Paint
by Arietti
Summary: Sub-Story of "The Fire," post-AC. After a brief hiatus the Turks are called back to their jobs, but under a different mantra. Even still, one of them might not be ready to pick up her dirty gloves again. RenoxElena. M for V,L, and SC.
1. Chapter 1: Art

**A/N: Ok, ok, ok.**

**I've been writing on "The Fire" for a while, and as I'm working out the main plot I'm beginning to realize that a LOT of time has passed since AC took place. There are some relationships that are going to come about that- while they look nice in my head- won't make sense unless I explain them separately. I want to do this for two reasons- the first being so their sub-story doesn't take over the main plot that I want to focus around Vincent and Yuffie, and the second being because I would REALLY like to write some smut RIGHT now. So.**

**I'm going to start this little mini-series of sub-fics explaining the relationships between the characters in my CURRENT FFVII "The Fire" universe. They'll all be individual stories, but they'll have this little spill at the beginning of them, and they'll all eventually tie into my main fic. Is that cool? If you don't understand you can always PM me. Thanks!**

**This ****story ****takes ****place ****five ****months ****after ****the ****events ****of ****AC, ****a ****little ****under ****two ****years ****before**** "****The ****Fire.****" **

**Enjoy!  
><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Paint**

**Chapter One: Art**

_"__Shawty __so __incredible; __body __language- __she's __a __poet,  
>She's <em>_so __bad, __and __what's __so __sad- __is __she __doesn't __even __know __it._

_Little_ _Mama- __understand. __The __way __you __do __the __things __you __do-  
><em>_Nobody __else __can, __and __you __can __probably __get __whatever __from __whatever __man._

_But __shawty __do __what's __in __your __soul; __still __it'd __be __a __shame __to __see __you __go.  
>'Cause <em>_the __way __you __move...__"_

_-The Way __You __Move  
><em>_~Ne-Yo (__ft. __Trey __Songz __and __T-Pain)  
>~~~~~~~~~~~ <em>

"I never was one much for paintin'."  
>"I've never known you to be 'one much for anything' besides booze and women."<p>

Reno snorted, shooting his bald counterpart a look as the two continued down one of the many halls in the New Midgar Museum of Art, slowly making their way to the college wing where night classes were taught.

"I can be pretty sophisticated when I want to." The red-head scoffed. "I just never want to."

"I'm sure." Rude muttered in his cool, mocking tone, then pointed down the hall. "It should be that third one on the left."

Reno followed his direction, heading toward the classroom. While the art _was _interesting_,_they were there for a reason.

"I still can't believe she picked_ this_ up to fill in her job as a _Turk_ while we were gone," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Ri-goddamn-diculous. Not to mention the fact they even _hired _her is just bogus-."

He trailed off when they reached the open doorway and looked inside. Contrary to what the assassin had expected in terms of a night-class, there were nearly a hundred people lining the room, each student sitting at their own easel quietly as they looked toward the middle of the giant circle their chairs made to the model they were painting.

She was a slender thing, her normally kept, smooth blonde hair tossed up into a short, messy ponytail with a few wisps of bangs left hanging to frame her oval face. Her brown eyes shimmered in the dim mood lighting, fixed on a point only she could see as she sat backwards on a small wooden chair; breasts pressed against the wooden finish to hide them from full view, and a white down-feather comforter draped around her waist so that her more delicate parts were covered. Otherwise every bit of flesh was completely bare. Her legs, borderline pale-but-smooth, somehow went on forever, right into a pair of smart black pumps.

_Much_ sexier than the ones she used to wear in the field.

Naturally, if Rude had any kind of reaction, you couldn't see it. Reno, on the other hand, spared no expense in terms of discretion.

"Holy shit!" He crowed.

Everyone stared at them. Elena cringed. The teacher looked annoyed.

"Elena, do you know these...men?"

"'Laney, someone took your clothes!"

She rolled her eyes, throwing an apologetic look to the professor. "Unfortunately, yes."  
>"That's really <em>you<em>, ain't it?"

"I suppose this ends our session for the evening."  
>"It appears so. I apologize for the early dismissal, Professor Thompson."<p>

"Is that a _tattoo?_!"  
>"<em>Reno!<em>"

The walls shook with her voice, and everyone looked back to the read-head, who shirked.

"Yep, it's her."

Sliding the blanket to cover herself Elena stood, stepping away from the chair and toward the small dressing room at the front of the class.

"Thank you everyone." She waved to the students, then glanced at her more stoic partner. "Rude."

He nodded, then stepped out into the hallway to wait for her. Reno smirked.

"What, no 'hey Reno'?" When she didn't reply he tacked on, "you know, blankets aren't considered proper work attire."

"Fuck off."  
>"Missed you too, Blondie!"<br>~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes passed in the hallway as the guys waited for her to finish getting ready. When she finally emerged, they were still somewhat shocked at her appearance. Her hair was still up and messy, the top button of her shirt wasn't pinned, she was _carrying_ her jacket and _still_ wearing those pumps that emphasized her sweet, sweet ass.

"Car outside?" She asked, eyebrow raised as she casually passed between the two and kept going down the hallway toward the elevators.

It had only been five months since the group had split- when Rufus sent them all separate ways to finish his recovery and 'start over.' Apparently something had happened to him during his sickness that made him want to change (at least, that was the circulating water-cooler story), so once he was well enough to stand for more than an hour without passing out, he dismissed the Turks, not giving them a definite 'yes' or 'no' concerning the possibility of future reinstatement.

The four of them had reacted very differently to unemployment. Tseng, on a somewhat predictable level, went to the city to see what he could help Reeve Tuetsi with in the Foreign Relations Department the Boss had supposedly put him over (what a hack!). Reno had- also somewhat predictably- crawled into a bottle of whiskey and beautiful (and '_whiskey-_beautiful') women and stayed there 'til his savings got low (and by 'savings,' I mean the money he didn't have time to spend getting blitzed on the job), altogether about three months. When that happened he looked up Rude, who'd gotten into the bodyguard business (again, predictable) and was running detail on some millionaire mob-boss's 20-year-old daughter. Doing an old friend a favor, Rude got the drunk hired on- a job that lasted nearly two weeks before it got back to the Man that the ginger had taken it upon himself to make sure his daughter was taken care of in _every_ way (if you know what I mean, and I'm sure you do). He and Rude barely escaped with their lives, then set to picking up odd-jobs here and there until getting the call about a month later that it was time to come home.

It was sad how happy someone could be to get their old job as an _assassin_ back.

Elena, though, _she _was the wild card of the bunch. Taking every shred of discipline and wound-up anal-retentiveness she had and setting it on fire, the woman then proceeded to enroll herself in a few classes at the local School of Art.

That's right, 'Laney was a schoolgirl.

Public Speaking. Theater. Sculpting. It was a light load, but for someone in their late twenties who had been training in the art of kill-for-hire nearly fifteen years, you had to start small and simple.

As for the modeling- the guys could only assume it was a way to pass the time, because she sure as hell didn't need the money. Maybe she just wanted the attention?

The two turned to watch her walk as she went on ahead of them. With the way her hips were swaying, Rude almost considered looking over the rim of his glasses.

Almost.

"We're gonna be late, assholes. Come on!"

Her sharp tone snapped them both out of their trance, and they trotted to catch up with her. A few minutes later and they were sliding into the slick black ShinRa Co. Car Rufus had sent to pick them up.

"Fancy," Elena murmured, moving across the leather seats to sit against the far window. Rude sat down beside her, and Reno flopped onto the seat across from them, sprawling out lazily as the driver shut the door behind them.

"Nice to be back in the good-life, eh guys?" He looked up at his comrades sheepishly. Elena glanced at him, then looked at Rude.

"Are we picking up Tseng as well?"  
>"You <em>would<em> ask that."  
>"Shut up, Reno."<p>

"No," Rude replied calmly. "He has business to finish in the Old City before coming back to the Tower. Rufus will send for him in a few days."

She nodded, turning her attention to the tinted windows and thoughtfully biting her fingernails. Would Tseng still be the same leader she knew? Part of her secretly hoped he'd missed her.

"He probably didn't miss you, you know."

Okay, maybe it wasn't _that _secret.

"Thank you, Reno." She continued to stare out the window, letting every bit of annoyance she felt pour over into her tone.

"I heard he and Reeve were...you know."

"_Reno_." Both of the other Turks scolded him, and he snort-laughed. The car rolled to a stop in a warehouse parking lot, where the driver moved to let Rude out.

"Well hey hey!" Reno sat upright, confused. "Where are _you_ going?"  
>"Getting some gear," he deadpanned. "President's orders. Be right back."<p>

The door shut behind him, leaving Elena and Reno in a shell of silence for a minute or two before Reno slumped back into his seat.

"So much for a 'new and reformed ShinRa,' right?"  
>"You knew something like that wouldn't last."<br>He shrugged indifferently. "Not like I care. Ol' Prez's need for power just means I get my old job back." He tried to strike a dramatic pose. "Killin' hopeless bastards with style!"

Elena rolled her eyes. "You really _couldn't_ find anything to do with your time off, could you?"  
>"Meh. Day-jobs are for suckers."<p>

He fussed with his hair as she went back to looking at the city. A few minutes passed before she glanced at the door.

"Wonder what 'gear' he's getting?"  
>"So, you take your clothes off for money?"<p>

She startled, brow furrowing as she looked at him to see he was grinning. Letting out a disgusted noise, she crossed her arms.  
>"Not the way you're thinking, you hack."<p>

"But you _do.__"__  
><em>  
>Giving him an elegant look of 'piss-off,' the female-Turk disregarded the question, letting it fall to the wayside as the car door opened and Rude re-entered, not bothering with the awkward air he came back to.<p>

"Here." He got their attention long enough to hand them their company-issued weapons. Reno nearly sprang on his EMR, lavishing it with kisses as he curled up in his seat, holding it close. Elena was a bit more discreet, slipping her metal-lined gloves on and returning to her previous stance.

"Where to now?"  
>"The Tower," Rude replied, settling back coolly as the car began to move again. "The President wants to see us right away."<br>"Sounds like a long night."  
>"More than likely."<p>

With Reno now distracted by his long-lost love, the car ride to the newly finished ShinRa tower was pleasantly quiet; the more mature ones of the trio mentally preparing themselves for an assignment they knew was probably waiting for them to pick up the moment they entered the building.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

**A/N: ****I ****know. ****I ****just ****finished**** "****Caged,****" ****and ****then ****THIS ****pops ****up. ****It ****should ****only ****be ****a ****few ****chapters ****long, ****and ****I ****hope ****you ****enjoy ****it! ****;) ****Please ****review!  
>-Ari<strong>

**P.S. ****Also, ****I ****just ****wanted ****to ****share ****that ****every ****time ****I ****typed ****the ****word ****'shawty' ****for ****the ****song ****at ****the ****top, a certain image popped into my head. Since this thing won't let me paste the link, just search the phrase "How to Find a Shawty," and look at the images. **

**(Bahahahaha!) ^^**


	2. Chapter 2: One for the Team

**A/N: XD So, this fic isn't as well-received as I'd hoped, but that's OK.** **Thanks One of a Beautiful Kind for your review and add! :D Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own FFVII, and I'm not making money off of this fic.**

**Chapter Two: One for the Team  
><strong>

_"__Step __out __the __front __door __like __a __ghost __into __a __fog  
><em>_Where __no __one __notices __the __contrast __of __white __on __white.  
><em>_In __between __the __moon __and __you, __angels __get __a __better __view  
><em>_Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right._

_And __I walk in the air, between the rain, through myself and back again-  
><em>_Where? I don't know.  
><em>_Maria says she's dyin', through the door I hear her cryin'-  
><em>_Why? I don't know._

_'Round __here, we always stand up straight.  
><em>_'Round here, something radiates..."_

_-Round __Here  
><em>_~CountingCrows  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <em>

It didn't take long for the car to reach its destination, and although it had only been five months since any of them had seen it- it would be the Turks' first time walking into the finished ShinRa Tower. They couldn't help but feel a bit of awe as they passed though the 20-foot-tall glass double doors into the main lobby.

"Been a long time," Rude murmured. "It looks good."

"It's a fuck of a lot shinier than last time," Reno agreed, scratching his head as he craned his neck to look at the ceiling. It was a stretch- the floors above made a circle around an open atrium extending up to what looked like the 50th floor before it turned to the 'key-card only' levels. Rufus would be on the tip-top of all that metal and concrete, sitting in his nice, expensive-ass office chair just _waiting_ to give them kill-orders... or whatever.

(Wonder if he's changed his walk at all,) he thought, adjusting the goggles atop his head as he followed Rude to the front desk. (Guess we'll find out soon enough.)

Behind them, Elena took her time looking around the well-decorated foyer. The walls and floor were a dark marble, with strips of plush, red carpet put here and there to accent a doorway or a point on the wall. Most of the paintings that hung were done by highly-regarded artists- something she wouldn't have known five months ago.

It was strange, how much the details of every structure she passed had begun to stick out to her. She was glad she'd started taking the classes she had- if for no other reason than they made her feel like she didn't have such an empty head. Sure, she knew about the beauty of weapons and the art of fighting, but what's the point if you can't find beauty in peace, too? There has to be a yin for every yang.

"Elena."

Reno's 'business' tone caught her off-guard, and she spun to face him. He only paused long enough for their eyes to meet, and then turned to follow the woman who was leading them to the elevators.

Good thing, too, because her new-found 'appreciation for beauty' suddenly realized how amazing Reno's eyes were.

Shirking at the unexpected thought, the blonde stiffly picked up her pace and followed her partners to board the lift, not stopping until they hit level 101: The President's Suite.  
>~~~<p>

When the doors opened, the three were led into a room that can only be described as 'shiny.' The marble floors, a glittering grayish-white, were trimmed with gold at the walls, which were oak with a dark finish. The great map table in the middle of the suite was a brilliant onyx, framing the beautiful night-view picture of the Planet with soft afterglow lights. Each continent was lined with gold, and the major cities of the world were marked with diamonds.

The President's desk sat on a raised platform just past the table, a setup not unlike the one of the old Tower, and yet the view itself from _this_ skyscraper somehow seemed grander. The desk matched the map table, and its form was cut to shape the tall, curved, leather chair that sat like a throne in front of the glass wall overlooking the city.

In that chair sat President ShinRa, just as prim and proper as the day he took over for his Father.

The secretary led the Turks in, and while the three were more than used to the young President's god-complex antics by now, there was something about the way he smiled, the way his eye twitched when he tried to look directly at them- it was...strange.

When they were lined up a short distance in front of the map table he leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs heel-to-knee while pressing his fingertips together contemplatively.

"I suppose you all assume I've called you here for a kill-order."

He never _was_ one to beat around the bush, _that_ much hadn't changed.

"Well, I'm going to disappoint you. That is not the reason you are here."

Rude and Elena didn't flinch. Reno raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"The truth is, I'm having a New Year's celebration tomorrow night, and I have a few guests coming that are a bit...delicate. High profile. Meaning there's a good chance someone might be coming in to 'do a job'." He pushed his chair back, turning it to the side and standing out of it to pace around the front of his desk. "I can't have that. With ShinRa Corporation's new image coming into full swing next Spring I need all of the good PR I can get, and having billionaires getting stabbed at my company ball would be very bad for business."

He looked at them, seeing no obvious looks of protest, then went on.

"You three- four, once Tseng arrives- are the best in the business. I need you here to make sure things run smoothly, that no one 'crashes the party', if you will. If they do, then I will need your skills to keep them from succeeding their mark." Another courtesy pause, and he gave a charming smile. "If all goes well and the party is a success, the four of you will be paid a sum handsome enough to cover your lifestyles until my next event." He stopped his walking directly in front of them, looking around casually. "How does that sound to you?"

Reno, always eager for an easy job, gave a lop-sided grin. "You got it, Boss."

Rufus smiled, looking to Rude next for his answer, which came in the form of a silent nod. Last was Elena, who seemed hesitant.

"Elena? Is something wrong?"

It was almost uncontrollable- her old, bumbling self came back for an embarrassing appearance as she stumbled through all the red flags flying up in her head to stammer out the words. "Sir, yes sir- I mean, no sir. It would be an honor, sir."

Rufus paused, giving her that distant, skeptical look he always did, and Elena's heart sank into her stomach. She had always _hated_that look.

"President ShinRa, Tseng has arrived."

Instantly the attention shifted to the entry hallway. Rude and Rufus both turned to see the remaining Turk as he strolled in; his tall, lean figure the same as it had always been- you would swear the man never aged.

Elena, despite her desire to see the eldest Turk, couldn't bring herself to look up from the floor. How humiliating, to already be shoved into her place as the fool of the group their _first__day_ back.

(I should have never come.) she couldn't help the girlish self-pity. (At least at the college people didn't make me talk.)

Well, _that_wasn't entirely true. Public Speaking class had been a nightmare the first few weeks, but with the counsel of a kind Professor and the encouragement of her peers she had quickly excelled.

Rufus ShinRa offered neither kindness nor encouragement, and his 'counsel' was far from constructive.

"'Laney..!"

Reno's harsh whisper caught her ear, and she glanced up at him, surprised to see he looked concerned.

"Quit zonin' out!"  
>"Oh." She shook her head, pulling herself together. "Sorry."<p>

They both looked back to the front, where the President was just finishing explaining the situation to Tseng, who then agreed to the assignment. He stepped into line beside Elena.

"Elena." He acknowledged firmly.

"Tseng." She tried to mimic, but curiosity got the best of her. "I thought you wouldn't be here for another day?"

"The President insisted I come in tonight," he explained casually. "Reeve will be coming in a couple of days to discuss any business I didn't finish before leaving."

He never looked at her, but something in his tone suddenly triggered Reno's terrible suggestion in the car earlier that night. As if her thoughts were a cue, she glanced over at the red-head, who was waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She choked.

Normally, the slip would have earned her a good scolding, but Rufus had busied himself with pulling up an image on the 3D projector that rose from the map table.

"This man will be your main target." He gestured to the rotating image of a handsome young 20-something in a suit. "His name is Daniel Sheppard, but he prefers to just be called 'Sheppard.' His Father owns over half of the Southern Continent, and recently, as a birthday present, gave a quarter of the property to Sheppard. Now, we all know that there's a good deal of Mako in the soil down there, but ever since the earthquake a few years ago, it's been unmanageable due to the ungodly amount of surfaced Lifestream."

One click on a remote and the picture shifted to a hologram of the Southern Continent- specifically Old Mideel.

"Sheppard is interested in investing his portion of land with ShinRa Company's newly finished Restoration Department, headed by yours truly." Another click and the images disappeared, leaving nothing but the soft illumination of the table surface to eerily light Rufus's face as he leaned into the glow. "I intend to use this property to its fullest potential; in turn making us both very, very happy."

He trailed off into thoughtful silence, and the Turks said nothing. There was no need for him to explain this part of the plot, was there?

(I don't know about the guys,) Elena thought, absently wrinkling her nose. (But something about this just seems... off.)

Again, the air of quiet was disturbed by the secretary entering, this time leading in a strangely familiar face.

"President ShinRa, Mr. Sheppard is here to see you."

"Excellent!" He nearly popped upright, and the room suddenly seemed brighter. Rushing around to greet the man, the two shook hands and embraced as if they were old, old friends.

"Rufus, you sharp bastard! How are you?"  
>"Still not as sharp as you, Sheppard!"<p>

Reno tried to resist cringing. There was no way this wasn't some kind of farce. Rufus was _never _this..._upbeat._ With _anyone._ It didn't matter _how _much money they had.

"Sheppard, I would like you to meet my team covering security for the party tomorrow night."

He gestured to the four, and Sheppard looked over the line approvingly.

"Ah, so these are the Turks. The Planet's deadliest assassins-," he paused upon seeing Elena, a spark of curiosity lighting his eye. "And the most beautiful as well, I see."

Elena's cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze. Sheppard only grinned- a charming, devilish grin that she was certain got him nearly anything he wanted. Rufus noticed the exchange, taking a small mental note before guiding his 'friend' over to the map table.

"Come, let us discuss the matters of your property. Afterward I would be happy to provide you with whatever you need to be comfortable these next few days."

Sheppard nodded, letting his gaze linger on the blonde bombshell just a bit longer. She shyly looked back, feeling her chest go hot with his forest green eyes on her; she was relieved when he finally looked away to discuss business with Rufus.

Beside her, Reno snorted. Elena shot him a look.

Several minutes passed- the Turks remained quiet as the two men of power finished their plotting before finally shaking hands on their decisions. As they turned to part ways, Elena was startled to find Sheppard walking directly toward her. He stopped inappropriately close.

"Pardon my staring earlier. I feel that I should introduce myself personally." He extended his hand. "Daniel Sheppard. You may call me Sheppard."  
>Elena thought her heart would beat out of her chest as she reached up to accept his hand. "Elena-."<br>"Elena," he echoed, turning her hand in his to kiss the top of it sensually. "So glad to know such a femme fatale as yourself is going to be...guarding my body. Let me know if you need the favor returned."

Beside them, Reno gaped. Where the _hell_ did this guy get off? Elena was _way _too good for him, not to mention too intelligent. Still, it was obvious she didn't know how to handle the excessive attention- he could tell by the horrified look on her face.

Gently brushing her hand with his lips one more time, Sheppard released her and strode toward the hallway leading out. Elena was frozen, hand still in the air with a look of shock on her face as she processed what had just happened. In front of her, Rufus continued to grin like an idiot until his new bff was out of sight- the moment he was gone, the act dropped impossibly fast.

"Elena." His voice was dark and firm, snapping her out of her trance instantly. She straightened up to attention as he walked toward her, eyes narrow. "You will keep him company for the night."

Her eyes went wide. "...What?"  
>"This is <em>not<em> the time to play a fool." He reached up and gripped her arm, and it took all she had to suppress the instinct to break his hand. "Until I have the deed for his property on my desk, he gets whatever of mine he wants- for the next two days, _you_ are mine, therefore _you __are __his_."

Jerking her to face the hallway, he forcefully released her.

"Go, and for god's sake handle it like a woman. Don't speak if you can help it."

Sensory overload was an understatement. Elena didn't know if she wanted to scream, cry, beat the fuck out of him, or a combination of the three. In the end she did none of those things, finding all she _could _manage was a deep breath to gather herself. Looking up to the hallway, she felt her stomach tighten at the thought of whoring herself out for Rufus's gain. Even still, her damn sense of duty spurred her feet to move to the elevator while the little voice in the back of her head told her to suck it up.

Reno couldn't help the apprehension that filled him. Brow furrowed, he turned to watch his comrade go, distantly hearing Rufus dismiss them and demanding they take a separate lift down. Rude approached him, seeing the conflict on his friend's face and feeling a hint of pity for him.

"Let's go grab a drink."  
>Reno didn't turn his head right away, but nodded. "Yeah, sure."<p>

Tseng had already started down the hallway, and the two followed him. As they turned the corner to face the elevators, Reno looked up to see Elena as she boarded the lift- where Sheppard had made certain to wait for her. As she turned to face the front, the sleaze reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch, the only hint of her uncertainty coming out the moment her eyes met Reno's. The two shared a second of silent conversation, and he tried his hardest to convey what he was thinking.

(I'm sorry.)

The elevator doors began to slide shut, and she lowered her gaze. When she was gone, Reno ran a hand over his face and boarded the next lift with Rude and Tseng.  
>~~~~~~~~~~<p>

**A/N: ****Thanks ****for ****reading! ****Please ****leave ****a****re view ****before ****you ****go! ****:D**

**~Ari**


	3. Chapter 3: Suite Talk

**A/N: ****He he, ****I ****know. ****Twice ****in ****one ****day ****(that's ****what ****she ****said? ****^^), ****but ****it's ****my ****day ****off ****and ****I'm ****feeling ****this ****sub-fic. ****Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer**: **Don't ****own ****it. ****Not ****making ****money ****from ****it.**

**Chapter Three: Suite-Talk**

_"Honey got her sexy on, steamin',_  
><em>She givin' hotness a new meanin'.<em>  
><em>Perfection- mama, you gleamin'.<em>  
><em>Inception, you got a brother dreamin', dreamin'.<strong><br>**Damn baby, I'm feignin'. I'm tryna holla atcha- I'm screamin'._  
><em>Let me love you down this evenin'.<em>  
><em>(Love you, love you, yeah you know you are my demon)<em>

_Girl we could form a team and,_  
><em>I could be the king you could be the queen and,<em>  
><em>My mind's dirty and it don't need cleanin'.<em>  
><em>I love you long time- so you know the meanin'..."<em>

_-Just Can't Get Enough_  
><em>~Black Eyed Peas<em>  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

The rest of the evening was uneventful. After one round of drinks with Tseng and Rude at the Tower's Sky Bar, Reno decided to call it a night. Normally the Turk wouldn't have bothered with going back to his room- especially sober- but the fact that Sheppard had made his nest in the corner of the bar bothered him. Specifically because in the half-hour Reno was drinking, the man had drawn in four other woman to sit with him and Elena.

The blonde Turk had stayed quiet, just as Rufus had instructed. She simply sat beside the socialite as he drank and charmed everyone around him- everyone but her, that is. Every glance Reno stole over at the table she looked less and less enchanted by him. Though it was still a crummy situation, it made the red-head feel a little better to know she could see through the douche bag's bullshit.

Still, a half-hour was all he could stomach, because in the end he knew she would be crawling into bed with him, whether Reno liked it or not.

...Not that it mattered, right?

(It's _Elena_.) He felt his mind stumble the thin line to 'panic mode' when he realized just how much he was _feeling_. (Air-headed, trips-over-nothing 'Laney. You've known her for _years_, Reno. Get a grip.)

His internal scolding didn't help. He was still concerned about her.  
>"Shit," he muttered, downing the rest of his whiskey.<p>

Tseng and Rude had been talking quietly, but their younger teammate's change in persona hadn't gone unnoticed. Glancing at one another, Tseng cleared his throat.

"What do you think of the President's plans, Reno?"

He shrugged, pulling the glass bottle of dark poison from the middle of their table to pour a small top-off.

"He's full of shit, that's for sure."  
>Rude hummed. "We're fairly certain he plans to kill Sheppard."<br>"Of course he does!" Reno scrunched his face in disgust at how obvious the situation was. "The kid _owns_ Old Mideel for fuck's sake. Just an acre of that land- regardless of the Lifestream content- is worth _thirty _times as much as a mastered 'All' materia. Who knows what kinds of new, twisted power orbs the soil is cranking out down there?" Slumping back into his chair, he sipped on the new contents of his glass bitterly. "I just wish he'd quit bein' such a puss with this whole 'buddy buddy' act he's got goin' on. Who the hell does he think he's kidding?"

Groaning, he threw one arm back over the top of his chair and turned his head quickly to see if anything had changed with Elena. She was pouring herself another glass of scotch while the four other women sitting around her laughed obnoxiously at something Sheppard was saying.

(Probably trying to black herself out before it gets bad.)

There it was again, that unbearable pull in his chest. What the fuck was going on? Grumbling, he finished his last drink and stood, digging through his pockets for what he owed on the bottle.

"I'm out, boys. See you in the AM."  
>"Don't worry about the tab," Tseng waved him off. "This one's on me."<br>He didn't argue. "Thanks."

Turning to leave, he was caught off-guard by the sight of Sheppard aggressively kissing Elena's neck. She looked annoyed and uncomfortable.

"_Fuck_," he spat, twisting back to the table to quickly pour and kill another half-glass. Slamming the empty vessel down, he leaned on the surface and shut his eyes, trying to get a grip.

Once again, Tseng and Rude exchanged concerned looks, not entirely certain what was happening, but both having a good guess.

"She's a lot stronger than she used to be, Reno." Tseng said softly. "She'll be OK."  
>"I know," he muttered after a few seconds, pinching the bridge of his nose. "...I know."<p>

It was all he could say without going into a rage. He had go get back to his room, and he had to do it soon- before the alcohol set in and made beating the shit out of Sheppard go from a good idea to necessary. He turned again to leave, this time averting his gaze as he passed the party table.

The moment he was gone, Rude shook his head.

"I have the feeling tomorrow's 'party' is not going to go well at all."  
>Tseng hummed, nodding into his glass. "I'm afraid I have to agree."<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He should have known it would happen.

Insomnia had always been an issue with Reno, ever since he was a kid. Something about growing up being able to hear through the walls when his parents were fighting, it had made it to where he couldn't shut his mind off. As long as he was awake, and it was quiet, his body would force itself to stay alert, waiting to hear any sign of a dispute around him. Even years later, after he'd ran away to Junon to start his own life, sleep came uneasily. It wasn't until he discovered the wonders of alcohol that he finally started getting a full night's rest, and he hadn't looked back since.

Until now, of course. Lying awake in his company-issued Tower Suite with no mini-bar key and no desire to make the walk back to the pub, it was only a matter of time before his reason for leaving caught up with him. The sound of Elena's key-card in the door next to his came with a soft beep, and before he could think to cover his ears the noise of staggering footsteps plodded into the room.

It was muffled, of course, but the echo of bodies thumping against the wall followed by loud laughter was easy to make out. That much didn't bother him; it was the subsequent knowledge that in a few minutes he would probably hear the bed banging against the wall that grated his nerves.

And it did. Sooner than later. The sound of Elena moaning stirred his blood, and when she came the first time, Reno had to hold a pillow over his face to keep from screaming. As if the night couldn't have been any more torturous- and for what? This was all new to him- these..._feelings. _The simple act of knowing who was doing the deed right beside him was driving him insane, for multiple reasons.

He had to take a cold shower.

He stayed under the water for nearly half an hour, but was never able to fully clear his head. When he came back out to hear they were _still _going at it, he decided he couldn't take it anymore.

(Sky bar, here I come.)

Pants, shoes, button-down shirt. Forget the jacket and goggles- there was liquor to be had, and he wasn't going to waste any more time getting to it.

As he entered the bar, he was happy to see it still open- and _empty_. That meant no waiting for refills. Not to mention he was fairly certain he could charge everything to the room- thank you, Rufus ShinRa.

(You self-righteous prick.) He tagged on merrily as he walked toward the counter, rolling back his sleeves.

It wasn't until he was a good six feet from his self-appointed chair that he noticed another body sitting at the end of the row, and if he hadn't been so sober, he would have thought he was seeing things.

"...Elena?"

She looked up at him, eyes tired as she dangled a half empty glass of white wine from her fingertips.

"Hey."  
>Trying to contain his confused relief, the red-head moved to sit beside her. "What-? I thought-."<br>"I gave him my room key," she explained, already knowing why he looked so lost. "He took the secretary back with him, I'm assuming?"

Reno stared at her as she turned back to her glass, taking a sip. "...Yeah."  
>"Good for him," she sighed, ducking down to hold the cold drink against her forehead. "Though I <em>do <em>feel sorry for her. He made me feel him through his pants under the table earlier...there wasn't a lot there to work with."

Reno startled, earning a sweet laugh from her. He grinned.

"Barely escaped hooking up with a light switch, eh?"  
>"Are light switches usually that small?"<p>

They both continued to laugh while he waved down his first drink, taking it happily as he continued to watch her. She was so pretty when she laughed, why did it seem like he'd never even seen her smile before?

(Gah, stop it.) He started on his drink, pushing the pestering thoughts aside.

"Whatcha gonna say to him in the morning?"  
>She rolled her eyes, talking into her wine. "Nothing. He'll be hung over. I'll be...guarding him, I suppose. After tomorrow night I don't imagine I'll see him ever again."<br>A small pause, and Reno tilted his head. "Were you thinking Rufus is gonna-?"  
>"Oh yeah. The guy's got a total bullseye on his back."<p>

They both shook their heads. Reno turned in his chair, resting his arm on the bartop.

"So, how d'ya think it's gonna go down?"  
>"I don't know- stabbing? Someone with a close-range weapon, anyway. Easy to conceal- like a dagger."<br>He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you figure that?"  
>"When we were being briefed, Rufus specifically said 'someone getting stabbed would be bad PR.' My guess is he's already got the killers hired."<br>"More than one?"  
>"Probably," she finished her glass and set it down, looking at him. "Like he said- <em>we<em> _are_ the best. One of us alone could probably fend of three trained SOLDIERs. Even still, if he keeps our posts spread out- which you _know _he will- the chances of us being able to take on six different trained assassins in one instant is...minimal."

Reno couldn't help but stare at her. She was speaking so plainly- so...confidently. It was _attractive_.

This time, she caught him looking, and gave a nervous laugh. _"__What?__"_  
>He snapped out of it with a wry smile. "Nothin', just- what <em>happened <em>to you?"

It came out wrong, of course, but she seemed to understand what he meant.

"Nothing, Reno. I just got tired of being a robot."

She started to wave the bartender down for her tab, but he held out his hand.

"Wait." When she looked at him, he shrugged, trying to be casual. "Let me buy you a drink."  
>She cut her eyes to the side, a smile catching her lips. "Reno, I don't know-."<br>"C'mooonn. It's the night before New Year's Eve, and we're going to be _working_ the holiday. You can at least have _one_ drink with me."  
>Elena laughed. "I think I've had like six already."<br>"Then at least stay while I catch up with you."

A chuckle, and she sat back in her chair. "Fine. I'll switch to whiskey and diet coke then."  
>"There ya go; a real trooper!"<p>

When she had her drink they sat in silence for a minute or two, watching avidly as the television above them displayed some news reel about the Tower's recent opening. People were crowded in the streets, anxious to get an up-close view of the new HQ that would dictate their city's future.

"Little do they know that their hard-earned money paid for almost all of it," Reno muttered. "Some way to 'give back,' eh?"  
>"Mm."<br>A few seconds more of quiet, and Reno slumped back sloppily in his chair. "Remember when we used to be the _good _guys?"

Elena looked at him, seeing no hint of humor in his face as he stared at the wall.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "I do."  
>"Don't get me wrong, we've done some pretty nice-ass things over these last few years. But it's like...ever since Rufus came into power, we've been doin' nothin' but helpin' with all the shit we used to try an <em>stop, <em>y'know?" He took a sip of his drink. "Even then, most of the stuff we've helped do that's _good_ has all been because of somethin' we fucked up in the first place. Edge. Stopping Kadaj and those idiots. Hell, even Sephiroth was our fault-."  
>"Don't say that," she shot, giving him a look. "You know damn <em>well<em> the Turks had nothing to do with Sephiroth. The only one of us even remotely involved with that was Vincent- and you know he tried to stop it."  
>"Pfft. You didn't even <em>know<em> Valentine back then." He chuckled, propping his elbows up on the bar. "Guess in all fairness I didn't really either. I just heard the rumors. Dude's a lot older than he looks."  
>"He isn't such a bad guy, you know."<p>

Reno shrugged half-heartedly. Of course Elena would know more about the gunslinger than he would, she owed him her life.

"I guess he's alright."

They watched TV for a few more minutes, seeing a headline about tomorrow's party run across the bottom of the screen.

"Did you have any plans for tomorrow? Before today, that is."  
>He shook his head. "I woulda probably done what I always did. Drink. Bug the shit out of Rude. Drink some more. The only change woulda been sayin' 'Happy New Year' when the clock struck twelve, then I'd pass out." Ignoring the look of pity she gave him, he set his glass down. "What about you?"<p>

She sighed jadedly, tilting her head. "I was going to go to a party. One of my friends from Art class was having a bunch of people over. I was kind of looking forward to it. I've never been invited to a party before."

Now it was _his_ turn to give _her_ a look of pity. "Really? Never?"  
>She laughed. "Thanks."<br>"No, it's not that, it's just...I mean _everyone_ gets invited to parties at _some_ point in their lives."  
>"You're making it worse, Reno."<br>"Ahh..." He ran a hand over his mouth as she giggled, finishing her drink and waving down one more.  
>"I guess you could be right- it's just <em>my<em> point is right now."  
>"I didn't mean it like that."<p>

The bartender topped him off and handed her a fresh glass. They looked at each other, both silently agreeing this was last call.

Turning back to the front, Reno shook his head. "I can't believe you thought you were a _robot_."  
>Elena raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to remember what she'd said. "Oh...well...wasn't I?"<br>"What?"  
>"I mean, seriously. All I could do was fight. I always followed orders- I could barely put a sentence together- and I was clumsy as hell."<br>"Robots aren't clumsy."  
>"Shut up, Reno."<p>

He grinned. She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I trained to join the Turks because I wanted to be better than my sister. I wanted to be the _best_. I was so young, and all I did was form my life around learning how to make people _die_. I never looked into what it was like to _live_."

Reno quirked his lips, lowering his voice. "You and me both, Blondie."

She gave him a glance, and they both took long pulls from their drinks. Looking back up at the TV, the story was still all about the upcoming party- this time flashing a picture of Sheppard on the screen.

"Hack," Reno muttered.  
>"Hope the sex was good," Elena concurred. "Because I'm pretty sure tonight's the last time he'll ever get laid."<br>"Here here."

They clinked glasses, taking another long pull.

"It's too bad you can't go to yer friend's party."  
>She shrugged. "Eh, she's making a weekend out of it. If we finish early enough tomorrow I might head over in time to catch morning mimosas."<br>"Nice."

She stared ahead for a minute, and he tried to laugh.

"Do they know?"  
>"Hm?" She raised her eyebrows.<br>"Do they know? Your friends? About...you know, you bein' a Turk?"  
>"Ha, no. And I don't intend to tell them. I'm already awkward enough, I'd rather not throw 'kill-for-hire' on top of it." Shaking her head, she tagged on, "I just hope I don't get too scraped up in the fight tomorrow night. I don't think anyone would want to paint my half-naked body if it's covered in bruises."<br>"I don't think they'll care, because you'll be half naked."

She gave a short laugh. He finished his drink and set it down.

"Well, I guess that's a night." Digging out his key-card he handed it to the bartender. "Get hers, too would ya?"  
>"Thank you." The blonde slid from her seat. "Well- thank you, ShinRa."<p>

Throwing back the rest of her glass, she turned to walk past him...and nearly twisted her ankle.

"_Sh-it!__" _She caught herself on his arm.  
>"A little too much to drink there, 'Laney?"<br>"No," she shot. "It's just these damn heels." Reaching down she peeled them off one-by-one, dropping down to face her partner's chest.

"I forgot how fucking short you are!" He crowed.

She punched him in the shoulder and he feigned injury, falling in behind her as she started her way out. It quickly became obvious that her problem wasn't just the heels.

"God-damnit...the floor keeps moving."  
>"I told you you'd had too much."<br>"Like you care! You're the one who _bought _me the drinks!"

They laughed, and she linked her arm in his to hold herself steady as they made their way back to the hotel wing. When they neared their rooms, Elena stopped.

"Ah, shit."  
>Reno looked at her. "What?"<br>"Sheppard."  
>"Oh," he realized, looking toward the room door that he knew probably hid a naked, sexed-out billionaire and secretary. "...Maybe they left?"<p>

Elena raised an eyebrow, and he ran a hand over his neck. "Yeah, you're probably right." Walking to his door, he slid the card. "Here, maybe we can call the front desk and get you another room."  
>"Thanks."<p>

Of course, the gratitude came a moment too soon. Reno's card wouldn't work.

"What the hell?" He slid it again. "It keeps turning red."  
>"Here, let me try." She sidled up next to him, slipping the plastic out of his hand and running her lips across the strip. When she slid it again, the light turned green. "There." She handed him back his key, and he took it.<p>

Then he moved his hands to either side of her face and kissed her.

He waited. Waited for her to shove him away, waited for her to scream at him. But nothing changed. A few seconds of startled freefall and suddenly, she was kissing him back.

They backed into the room, barely avoiding falling when the door suddenly gave way to air, but thumping against the wall instead. Reno silently told his inner voice that was screaming "hypocrite" to piss off- this was an _entirely _different ballgame compared to what he was listening to earlier.

When they recovered from hitting the wall, he pulled away for one second, hoping to look into her eyes to make sure this was what she wanted, but Elena wouldn't have it. Gripping him by the shirt collar, she pulled him back, opening her mouth to invite him further in. He moaned the moment he felt her tongue- so much softer than his, so much _sweeter_than anything he was used to tasting. If she were a drink, he'd never leave the bar.

Sliding her arms up to his shoulders, Elena felt her heat growing as he moved to pick her up. He was a lot stronger than he looked, that was for sure, and the second she had her legs wrapped around him she knew that he wouldn't leave her wanting. And she _was_ wanting. _Very_much.

They barely made it to the bed before she started unbuttoning her shirt. Reno stood back, peeling his oversized button-down off without much effort before moving to help her work on her pants. They slid right off, and before he knew it, he was looking down on the most beautiful, black-lace clad woman he'd ever seen.

"Sweet Shiva," he breathed, and she blushed.  
>"What? Is everything OK?"<br>"No, yeah, it's just..." He caught up with his thoughts and shook his head. "Wait a second, OK? I gotta grab...well, you know."

Rushing to the bathroom, he scoured the vanity for the contents of his pockets he'd emptied out before his shower earlier. Spotting the delicately wrapped condom in the corner, he grabbed it and began tearing the wrapper off as he walked back into the room.

"Didn't think you'd want to do this without-..."

He cut himself short when he looked down to see Elena was asleep. Faltering, he looked between the condom, himself, and her.

"But...!"

There was no arguing. If there was one thing he knew about Elena that would never change, it was her inability to handle alcohol. She was out, and there would be no waking her up for several hours.

Still, there _was _always the option of...

(No,) he shook his head. (No, there isn't. I'm an asshole, but not _that _kind of asshole.)

Groaning, he tossed the now-useless piece of rubber to the dresser as he moved to the bed and picked her up. Holding her over his shoulder with one arm, he peeled the covers down with his free hand, then laid her down and tucked her in. This was one hell of a fine mess.

"It was nice, while it lasted." He murmured, grabbing the spare blanket off the end and moving to the couch nearby. Throwing all the pillows to one side, he flopped down with his blanket and covered up, humming. "Still not even buzzed."

His voice trailed off into silence, but unlike before, the gentle sound of Elena's breathing was all his mind heard as he calmly drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Calamity

**A/N: Enjoy Chapter Four!**  
><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and I am making no money from this fic.<strong>

**Chapter Four: Calamity**

_"Oh there ain't no rest for the wicked,_  
><em>Money don't grow on trees.<em>  
><em>I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed-<em>  
><em>There ain't nothin' in this for free.<em>

_I know- I can't slow down, I can't hold back._  
><em>Though you know, I wish I could.<em>  
><em>No there ain't no rest for the wicked,<em>  
><em>'Til we close our eyes for good..."<em>

_-Ain't No Rest for the Wicked_  
><em>~Cage the Elephant<em>  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

The obnoxious sound of a phone alarm ringing split bitterly through the quiet morning air.

From his place on the couch, Reno stirred.

"M...ther..f...cker."

Instinctively stretching his arm out to the side he was used to having his phone on, he startled himself awake when he realized there was nothing there...and fell off the couch.

"Shit!" He sprang to his feet, stumbling when grogginess reared its ugly head and nailed him in the leg. Catching his balance on the armrest, he quickly checked himself over and, finding no injury, proceeded to reorient himself to the room.

It wasn't until he looked at the bed that the night before came rushing back.

"Oh...shit." He repeated, this time for quite a different reason. Distantly, the memory of Elena- wearing nothing but black lace- appeared perfectly in the sheets. An image that now, in the early light of day, was not so. There was no one there- the only sign that someone had slept there at _all_ was that the blankets were still a perfectly formed cocoon, one that would have looked enticing to the red-head had one phone alarm not _still_ been going off.

"Shut uuuuup." He moaned, crossing the floor and silencing it. As he read the time, he groaned. Ten minutes 'til breakfast.

Padding across the suite, he located the clothes he'd strewn off the night before. Still no sign that anyone had been in the room with him. Reno couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Surely the entire thing hadn't been a dream, right?

Pants on, shirt on, jacket...wrinkled, but on. Shoes would come on the way out, but his goggles? He'd thrown them down by the bed on his way to the shower yesterday, but when he went to retrieve them, he noticed something that was _definitely_ not his.

An earring. One single, silver, dangle earring.

(Oh, thank Shiva,) he thought, picking it up and tucking it away before sliding his goggles on. At least he had _one _thing going for him; that he wasn't crazy.

(...Well. Not entirely.)

Despite the relief, he couldn't help but in turn feel a little put-off. Why did she leave? Had she left early? Surely not, she was so out of it the night before...

"Oh, man." He ran a hand over his face as he holstered his EMR and started out the door. "She's never gonna look at me again."

Exhaling deeply, he decided the time for hanging himself over what did or didn't happen the night before was not now. He would have plenty of time for that later, if Elena didn't kill him herself first.  
>~~~<p>

"They've been up here since six."

Tseng's dark eyes connected coolly with Reno's as he approached their table on the sunroof terrace of the Tower. The eldest Turk, along with Rude, were having breakfast- a small affair, by all means- while watching over Rufus and Sheppard as they sat at a table a good distance away, talking.

"Surprised the kid can walk," Reno mused, settling down into a chair and pouring himself some coffee. "He wasn't lookin' too steady when I left last night."  
>"It got worse," Rude assured him. "He drank for almost two hours- hard liquor. Left Elena alone in the bar to run off with ShinRa's secretary."<br>"We tried to get her to come sit with us," Tseng added in, "but she seemed like she wanted to be alone."

A prickle of 'male-dominant' pride quirked Reno's lips. Elena had turned down an invite to drink with _Tseng_. How big of a 'win' for him was _that_?

The sound of the terrace door opening drew their attention to the entrance, where they all did a double take.

Elena emerged from the stairwell, blonde hair down and done to frame her gentle face. She was wearing makeup- something she didn't normally bother with- the accents around her dark eyes making them appear smoky and mysterious. Her dress was a short black thing, stopping just below her ass, but giving hints of the curves beneath when she walked. The waistline was fitted to her slender frame- and there was only one strap that hung loosely over her right shoulder. Again, she was wearing six-inch heels, only these appeared to be made of satin, and had perfectly styled bows on the back of each shoe.

Reno had barely registered everything right about the woman when he realized she wasn't walking toward him.

She approached Rufus and Sheppard quietly, sliding into the chair the young billionaire pushed out as she neared and casually leaning into the arm he draped behind her. When coffee was brought to her, she sipped on it delicately, listening to the conversation before her but never speaking a word.

"What...the hell just happened?" Reno finally turned to his comrades, who had gone back to eating. "Why is she sitting with _them_?"

"She _was_ over here with us." Rude explained. "When we first arrived. Rufus sent someone out to retrieve her- he said she didn't look appropriate to accompany his guest to the party tonight."  
>"'His guest,'" he echoed. "The guy left her in the bar last night!"<br>"Keep your voice down," Tseng scolded.  
>Rude went on. "It seems he wants to make up for leaving her behind."<p>

"Pfft." Reno rolled his eyes, looking back to the Boss's table just in time to catch Elena glancing over at him. For a moment they locked eyes and he wasn't sure what to do, and instinctively popped his chin up to acknowledge her.

A lame move, naturally, and he knew it was the second he did it- but it earned a good reaction. Elena smiled.

"We need to be careful." Tseng's deep, serious voice drew his attention back to his own table, and he turned to see the older Turk looking gravely toward their Boss. "I fear tonight is not going to be an easy case to manage."  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"I mean exactly what I said." He took a sip of his coffee, stare never wavering. "If the President has put a hit out on Sheppard, it's a certainty that he will make it look as though it had nothing to do with him. We will be considered 'expendable.'"  
>"An open kill order." Rude concluded, understanding. "Meaning we need to watch our backs."<p>

"How can he _do _that?" Reno grumbled through clenched teeth, looking resentfully back at the white-coat clad President. It was a rhetorical question, of course. They all knew better than to think Rufus was someone who would take other people's lives into consideration when it came to gaining power.

Still, the sound of Tseng's voice- laced with regret- didn't go unnoticed.

"It would not be the first time he betrayed the ones who work for him."

Rude and Reno said nothing, the former resuming his breakfast while the latter didn't attempt to hide the fact he was staring at Elena.

There wasn't much to be said about Reno when it came to feelings- more than what most people thought, but still, not a lot. He was fiercely loyal to a few, tolerant of a handful, and indifferent toward everyone else. Only twice in his life could he remember feeling _protective_ of someone. The first being his mother. Until the day she died, Reno had been good to check in on her when he was away. After their divorce, his father came back _once_- years later- to steal money and remind her how little of a man he really was. Reno had been on his way into town for his monthly visit, and happened upon the house just in time to hear his mother screaming.

...Let's just say his father hasn't been around since.

The second time was right then. Looking at Elena, the red-head suddenly realized that for all the awkwardness, all the self-conscious stuttering, everything that eventually led to her spell of extensive soul-searching followed by the blooming that was still in progress...he couldn't help but feel _happy _for her. He wanted her to succeed, whatever she did. He wanted her to be just as happy as he was when he was looking at her.

Happiness- other than what was derived from a good bottle of scotch- was a feeling he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

"It's time to go."

Beside him, both Rude and Tseng pushed back from the table, shadowing the moves of Rufus and Sheppard as the men wrapped up their breakfast talk and started for the door leading back down to the Suite.

Reno followed their lead, finally tearing himself away from Elena long enough to stand up. Scratching his head, he fell in line with his comrades as they left, pausing at the door just long enough to hold it open for Elena. She was the last one through, and as she passed, she gently reached up to touch his arm, before disappearing down the staircase in front of them.

Reno smiled. If there had been any doubt in his mind that she was feeling something like he was, it was gone.  
>~~~~~~~~<p>

The day passed slowly. After the six had descended back into the President's Suite, Rufus dismissed Reno and Rude to go secure the room for the party (a task that should have only taken ten minutes, but the man had made an insufferably long checklist to keep them busy). Tseng was to stay with him, while Elena was Sheppard's personal bodyguard for the rest of the day-a thought that did not please Reno in the slightest, but he was slowly coming to grips with the fact Elena could handle herself.

As Rude finished checking the emergency lock-down system for the third time he looked at Reno, who sat at one of the yet-to-be decorated tables with his feet propped up, sipping out of his flask.

"We're not supposed to drink today."  
>"It's just a taste," he retorted, feigning innocence. "Besides, gotta be cool for tonight. What with our boss putting an open kill order on the man we're supposed to be watching and all- don't wanna get cold feet."<p>

If he could have seen it, he was certain Rude would be rolling his eyes.

"That seems to be a good reason _not _to drink." Checking his watch, he looked around. "Not much longer 'til we have to go get ready."

"You know that's a crock, right?" The red-head sat forward, dropping his feet back to the floor. "Scheduling time for us to 'get ready.' It's probably when he'll bring them in."

"I'm sure they're already here," he replied bluntly, glancing about. "We just need to figure out who they are and how many before the party starts."  
>"I'm sure we'll be able to spot them when they show up."<br>Rude hummed. "Let's hope so. As skilled as she is, I don't think Elena could take more than two of them at once."

_That _got his attention. Of course, why hadn't he seen it before? Out of the four of them, Elena was going to be closest to Sheppard all night. If any one of them was in danger of being a casualty it was her.

Frowning, Reno screwed the cap back on his flask and put it away.

Rude arched a brow above the rim of his glasses. "Are you OK?"

He would have answered, but at that moment the doors opened, and in walked Elena and Tseng.

He hopped to his feet. "Hey hey! What's the word?"  
>"The word," Tseng echoed with no hint of humor in his tone, "is that it's time for the two of you to leave."<br>"You're here to relieve us?" Rude asked.  
>"Not quite." Elena shook her head. "We're supposed to do a quick sweep of the room before going to grab something to eat."<p>

The silence that fell over the group was incredulous.

"_Seriously_?" Reno crowed, borderline angry. "Holy Bahamut, at least in the past he had _tact_."  
>"Geostigma must've gotten to his head," Elena muttered, agreeing.<p>

He snort-laughed, she giggled. Tseng and Rude sighed.

"There's something more to this night that what is obvious." The oldest Turk looked between them, eyes narrow and serious. "I haven't figured out how yet, but I will. Stay alert." Then, to Elena, "Especially you."

She had been smiling, but it faded slightly with the weight of his words. Nodding, she lowered her head.

Rude cleared his throat. "We should go."  
>Reno nodded, still watching Elena. "Yeah, we should."<p>

The bald Turk crossed toward the door while Tseng made his way to the booth Sheppard would be sitting in that night. As soon as they were out of earshot, Reno and Elena took a step closer to each other.

"Elena-."  
>"Reno," she held up a hand, cutting him off. "I know...about last night."<br>He tried to laugh. "That's kind of surprising."  
>She sighed, cheeks flushing as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Look, it was fun but-."<br>"But what?" He furrowed his brow, hearing the excuse coming, but not believing it. "So things _almost_ happened kinda fast, who says they need to?"  
>"It shouldn't have happened at all," she murmured, and his heart sank.<br>"Elena..."  
>"I'm sorry," she shook her head, looking up at him. "Reno, you know this would never work."<p>

Looking at her, conflict was blatant in her eyes. It gave him hope.

"Sure 'Laney. Whatever you say."

She tilted her head, quirking her lips with an expression that said 'Really? Is that it?' When he didn't tag anything on the end of his little statement she drew in a deep breath and went to walk past him.

"Oh, hey." He turned as she walked by, hands deep in his pockets. "Thought you might want this." Pulling one hand out, he casually tossed her earring the distance between them. She caught it, looking it over before flitting her gaze back to him- just in time to see him turn and leave.

The shudder that rocked through her was completely involuntary, and she silently cursed Reno for his ability to make her legs weak.  
>~~~~~~~~~<p>

As far as parties were categorized, this one qualified as what Rude would call 'needlessly loud.'

The tall, stoic Turk stood silently at his post in the corner of the room, arms folded across his broad chest as he looked over the dance floor at the vast array of people the President had invited. It was so diverse, surely the man didn't know _everyone_ there. Not that it made any difference; diverse or no- _some _of them were there to kill Sheppard.

He had already pinpointed at least two of them. One- blatantly- was a server walking around with a tray of cheese; a bit too good with a knife to be just an ordinary server. The second was the woman controlling the lights; she had a blade strapped to her thigh that was just visible from where he was standing...not that he was complaining.

Unfortunately, that was all he could manage from his vantage point. Rufus had given them strict instructions to not move unless something happened. Tseng was posted by the door, and if he had caught on to more assassins, you couldn't tell by his face. Reno was standing on one of the balconies overlooking the dance floor, leaning on the rail and brooding about something (probably the fact that he couldn't drink, Rude assumed); who knew if he'd even been paying attention?

Elena was last, but Rude was certain she hadn't had a moment to orient herself to anyone outside the booth she sat in. Sheppard had been keeping her hands busy as it were, attempting to kiss her neck and shoulders until finally she stood up to get away from him. Rufus hadn't let her wear her gloves, but her gun was strapped high up on her thigh and at one point Rude wasn't entirely sure the socialite wouldn't accidentally fire it. It never happened, but when Elena stood to gain some relief the billionaire followed, asking her to dance. She reluctantly accepted.

From where he was perched, Reno watched the unfolding scenes below him with a calm indifference. The night had been going at a steady clip- the songs waxing and waning at just the right tempo- everyone was drinking just enough to keep them loose but only a few were actually drunk; those people were not the ones he was concerned with. The Turk- now some thirteen hours completely sober- was almost hyper-diligent, picking up on the slightest moves, the smallest looks in the right direction at the wrong time that made him put a mental mark on people until they'd done enough to clear themselves in his eyes.

So far, five people had not passed the test.

Five. The light coordinator, the cheese server, one of the bartenders, a pole dancer in the corner just opposite of him, and the doorman directly beside Tseng.

He couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the last one. Boy, did that poor idiot have no idea what kind of fire he was playing with when it came to Tseng.

The sad thing was, he probably could guess how that conversation had gone. When the team was setting up, the doorman- a fairly sizable opponent, with a bald head to match Rude's and shoulders broad enough to hold up a house- more than likely looked over the eldest Turk's profile and thought 'He's along in his years, probably good with a gun, but no match for me in hand-to-hand combat.' How sad would it be when he found out Tseng had the unnatural strength of a 27-year-old? Not to mention the combat skills of someone beaten into shape during the Wutai War.

Reno wrinkled his nose. What _was_ it about all the Turks over fifty looking the same age as him? Valentine was _trapped_ in _his _body- some people said he's immortal- but that was Hojo's fault. Tseng... well...maybe it was all that time he spent chasing Aeris around when he was younger. Her Ancient aura must have kept him young.

...Or maybe he just had good genetics.

The beat faded into something steady with a smooth bass, and before Reno could roll his eyes he saw Elena being dragged onto the dance floor by her work-date.

While he'd had been good to keep his emotions out of the way since the beginning of the party, seeing the girl he'd unexpectedly developed feelings for unwillingly grinding up on a man nearly three sheets to the wind itched its way under his skin. Trying to keep himself from staring, he turned his back to the rail he leaned against, surprised to see Rufus some ten feet away talking with his secretary as she wired him up.

(He didn't say anything about a speech,) he thought, glancing down at Rude. The bald man looked up at his comrade, reading the confused look on his face and sending one right back. Normally the two would have had earpieces to talk on, but Rufus had insisted that they would look too suspicious. Reno opted for texting.

"Rufus. Speech?"

Rude glanced at the message and shrugged, shaking his head slightly. Apparently he didn't know either.

"Fuckin' great," he muttered, pocketing his phone and adjusting his EMR in the holster as Rufus made his way to a nearby vacant balcony overlooking the full room below.

The music stopped- much to Elena's relief- and the lights were brought up to the host of the party as he faced his guests with a smile to be rivaled by every maniac who ever ruled ShinRa Corporation.

"Welcome, friends, to the first annual ShinRa Corporation New Year's Eve Ball!"

Loud applause and cheering erupted throughout the room. Below, Sheppard took Elena by the hand and led her back to the booth.

"I am so grateful to have each and every one of you here on this special occasion, when we can celebrate the coming of a New Year surrounded by good company, having a good time." Turning to his secretary, he waved her over while looking back to Sheppard, who had just guided Elena into the booth before turning to stride toward the President.

"Some of you may know my dear friend and colleague, Mr. Daniel Sheppard." He paused for cheering, and the two shook hands and grinned. "Well tonight I am here to announce something wonderful happening on this night- something that could only be celebrated with people like you on a night like New Year's Eve."

"_Please _say you're getting married," Reno muttered.

"Tonight," Sheppard cut in happily, "will mark the beginning of a beautiful partnership- one in which the efforts of ShinRa's Restoration Department will finally start on a part of the world that needs improvement- and will, in turn, improve this city one-hundred fold." He raised a hand, throwing out that cocky smile and sending the room into a frenzy when he finished. "Project 'Recover Mideel' will begin in one week from this moment!"

The secretary produced a small clipboard, Rufus pulled his gold pen from his pocket, and both men signed what must have been the asset to Old Mideel. The cheers were insane. If Reno hadn't been so involved in his own thoughts he might have covered his ears, but he was too busy wondering why the hell everyone was so excited about fixing Mideel. Half of these kids couldn't have been out of college- did any of them _actually _know what was happening in Mideel? Had any of them even _been _there?

(If they had, they'd probably be a little less excited about it.)

If there was a conclusion to the speech, Reno didn't hear it. The sound of cheering eventually rolled into a countdown as a small disco ball began to drop in the center of the room- tiny lights within the shell projecting numbers all over the room. It was almost midnight. Almost the beginning of a new year.

Sheppard took a glass of champagne and toasted the President, motioning to Elena to come join them. The blonde obeyed, sidling into his open arm just as the count hit five.

He gripped her at the hip, laughing with Rufus about something only they could hear.

_Four.__  
><em>  
>Elena looked across the room to Tseng, who had calmly began to slide on his combat gloves and size up the doorman.<p>

_Three._

Rude adjusted his glasses, cracking his knuckles.

_Two._

Elena looked up at Reno as if she'd known he was there all along. The two stared at each other as the sound of people cheering and shouting uproariously reached a nearly deafening decibel.

_One_.

Confetti fell from the ceiling, and as the lights flickered and dimmed, Reno watched while Sheppard twisted in, sliding his hand up to Elena's neck and pulling her into a long, passionate kiss.

…And then it was dark.

The lights didn't come back up, and Reno knew it wasn't an accident. The guests of the party continued cheering, until the loud sound of gunfire swallowed everything into silence.

Flipping open his EMR, Reno sparked the end and illuminated the balcony he stood on. Glancing around, the few dozen faces he could see were all staring at him.

"You guys might wanna get the fuck out of here."

As if on cue, the sound of someone gurgling on their own blood drew everyone to the other side of the room, where the open doorway just barely displayed the figure of Tseng as he stepped away from the doorman, retracting his wristblade and letting the assassin drop with an authoritative snap.

"There's five more."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

**A/N: So, this is turning into something a bit longer than I had expected it to. Sorry to those of you who thought this was going to be short and sweet! It won't be much longer, and it's going to explain a bit more than just character relationships.**

**Thank you again for reading! Please leave a review before you go!**  
><strong>~Ari<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Shakedown

**A/N: Warning to those just jumping in- THIS is the chapter with smut in it. If you aren't partial to it, just skim over the break near the end when everyone splits up. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII and am not making any money from this fic.**

**Chapter Five: Shakedown**

_"Cocaine flame in my bloodstream,_  
><em>Sold my coat when I hit Spokane.<strong><br>**Bought myself a hard pack of cigarettes in the early morning rain._  
><em><strong><br>**Lately my hands they don't feel like mine;**  
><strong>My eyes been stung with dust, I'm blind.**  
><strong>Held you in my arms one time, lost you just the same._

_Jolene,I ain't about to go straight.**  
>-<strong>It's too late. _

_I found myself face down in the ditch-**  
><strong>Booze in my hair, blood on my lips.**  
><strong>A picture of you, holding a picture of me,in my pocket on my blue jeans._

_Still don't know what love means,_  
><em>Still don't know what love means,<em>  
><em>Jolene..."<em>

_-Jolene_  
><em>~Ray LaMontagne<em>**  
><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
>Chaos ensued.<p>

People screaming, clamoring over each other to get out of the one open door in the room- because for some reason, the 'emergency lock-down' on the six other exits had mysteriously all been triggered.

From his place by the door, Tseng found Rufus's stare dead-on him, and it did _not _look happy.

It didn't make any difference to the Turk, who promptly moved to the now-vacant technician's booth and flipped the lights up.  
>~~<p>

Rude had begun to make his way to the center of the dance floor, where the cheese-tray server was busy readying a throwing knife. As he approached, the bald Turk let out a sharp whistle, twisting around to kick the weapon from the man's hands and sending the silver tray flying. Rude snatched it out of the air, swinging it hard and cracking it over his opponent's head. The server hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, but the Turk didn't have time to celebrate- the light coordinator appeared in the crowd, facing off with him as she drew the butterfly blades from beneath her skirt.

"Bet you didn't see this coming."  
>Rude quirked his lips, taking battle stance. "Oh, I most certainly did."<p>

They ran at one another, but before she could bring her blade up to swing, her heeled foot hit a puddle of spilled drink in the middle of the floor and she slipped, legs flying out from under her. When she hit the floor her head jerked back, banging against the surface with a loud pop and rendering her unconscious.

Rude slowed to a stop beside her, a curious eyebrow raised as he looked down at her.

"Well...that was easy."

~~  
>Damn, pole dancers were flexible!<p>

Reno swore under his breath as the assassin swung around one of the beams running through the balcony to the ceiling, planting a foot in the center of his chest and throwing him back into the railing.

"Ah, come on, now! I didn't do anything to you!"

The woman only smirked, brushing her dark hair out of her face as she gracefully twisted sideways on the pole- holding herself up with her arms and motioning with her foot for Reno to 'bring it on.'

The red-head had to shake himself out of it. Never before had he been in a fight quite like this.  
>Lunging forward, he met nothing but air when she lifted herself above him then dropped, bringing her leg down hard across his back. He sprawled face-first onto the carpet, taking a second to regain his senses and flip over onto his back.<p>

A very costly second.

Her knees were in his shoulders before he could position himself to jump up, and she sat on his stomach, pinning him.

He gave a short laugh. "Sorry baby, you're not my type."  
>"You should learn to talk less," she purred in a thick Wutain accent. "If you like, I can cut out your tongue."<br>"Pass."  
>She hummed, drawing a blade from her bra and slowly running it down the side of his face. "You know, when your Boss hired us, he made it sound like the fight would be much harder."<br>Reno snorted. "I don't really like to hit women."  
>"That is your mistake." She flashed a seductive, evil smile, leaning in close to him. "You should <em>never <em>think of a female assassin as a 'woma-.'"

A spark of electricity, and she went limp. Reno sighed, retracting his EMR and rolling her to the floor.

"I should have mentioned shocking them is a lot more fun." He stretched as he stood, straightening his jacket out and fussing with is goggles before starting for the stairs.  
>~~<p>

Elena looked around frantically, trying to find an exit to get Sheppard out of the room.

"Everything's locked down," he whimpered behind her. "There's no way out."  
>"There's <em>always <em>a way out," she hissed, throwing an impatient glare to President ShinRa, who- despite the lengths he'd gone to make it look as though he had nothing to do with the situation- was failing miserably at appearing surprised by what was happening.  
>"I didn't design this room." He shrugged. "I don't know of any hidden ways in or out."<p>

"Fine." The blonde rolled her eyes, grabbing Sheppard by his shirt collar and shoving him toward one of the nearby sealed exits. "We'll just have to _make _a way out."

Reaching over to one of the tables, she snatched the decorative lantern from its center and took it apart, quickly fashioning a bomb. Pushing the wick further down into the glass to shorten the fuse, she held an arm out to stop the man beside her.

"Don't move."

Rufus and the secretary followed suit, and Elena tossed the small orb to the foot of the door. The glass broke, lighting up the entire frame of the entryway, then faded- revealing a still intact wooden panel.

"Didn't seem to work," ShinRa hummed, amused.

Elena ignored him, walking the short distance and kicking the door at its lock. The structure caved, and a hallway appeared on the other side.

"Yes, it did." Looking back, she motioned for Sheppard. "Come on."  
>He breathed relief, running ahead of her. "You're amazing."<p>

As he passed her, Elena was quick to catch the look of anger that flashed across her Boss's face.

(Piss off. This is what you get for underestimating me.)

The four ran down the hallway, rounding the far corner and coming to a stop in front of a set of elevators.

"We just need to make it to the Suite," She instructed, moving to press the 'down' button on the elevator. "From there you can take the President's helicopter to a safehave-."

The sound of a blade flipping out would have gone unnoticed by anyone but an assassin- and Elena heard it. Twisting around, she reached up to palm the secretary's forearm just before she could land the wristblade into Sheppard's neck.

She shrieked, stumbling to the side. Sheppard jumped out of the way, wide-eyed.

"What the fuck!"

Elena groaned, shaking her hands out before readying battle stance. Beside her, Rufus growled.

"Just use your _gun_, Elena."

The secretary lunged, swinging the blade toward the Turk. Elena blocked the blow, then turned to the side and in one motion grabbed the gold pen from Rufus's front pocket, twisted to spin around on one leg, hooking the crook of her raised knee around the back of the woman's neck. Dragging her down, she swung her arm back and jabbed the pen through the secretary's forehead, killing her instantly.

Releasing the woman to fall to the floor, Elena stumbled a few steps before catching her balance.

Sheppard laughed giddily. "That was _amazing!_"  
>Rufus was less impressed. "Indeed."<p>

The elevator doors dinged open in front of them, and Sheppard ran to get on. Rufus followed, stopping on the threshold to look back at his worker.

"You disobeyed me."  
>She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"<br>"I told you to use your gun."

Elena paused, her weak tie to loyalty- along with her ability to hold a calm face- snapping.

Drawing her gun, she pointed it at Rufus and pulled the trigger. The sound went off, but only powder coated the President's jacket.

"I know when the fuck my gun has been loaded with blanks, Sir."

There was nothing she could do- nothing she _wanted _to do. Rufus stepped into the elevator, frowning. Sheppard stood behind him, his look of confusion melting slowly to one of realization, but the doors were closed before he could try to get out.

The female Turk let out a frustrated groan, tossing her useless weapon to the floor before walking back to the ballroom. It was quiet as she entered- the guests had all managed to get through the door Tseng initially left open- and the only people left were her comrades and four dead/unconscious assassins.

So angry was she with the entire Rufus situation that she didn't notice the warning looks from Tseng and Rude as she walked down the stairs to the dance floor. By the time she _did _glance up at them, the barrel of a gun was pressed to the side of her head.

She sighed. "Shit."  
>"You won't take me alive," the assassin's deep voice drew close behind her as he wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her against him, stepping backwards for the door.<p>

Elena moved with him, hands loose at her sides as she dully looked between Rude and Tseng.

"Where was _this_ one hiding?"  
>"Bar." They deadpanned in unison.<p>

"This mission was a setup," the man cursed. "I _knew_ it would end like this. Sending six to take on four _Turks_. Fucking _suicide_."  
><em>"<em>You _do_ realize holding a long-range weapon _this_ close to my face is seriously a _bad_ idea?"  
>He didn't seem to hear her. "The money was too good. Too damn good. He was probably gonna kill us himself afterward anyway."<p>

"Let her go," Tseng said firmly, gun steady on the opponent. Elena was certain both he and Rude knew that their weapons were more-or-less empty, but bluffing was something they were fairly good at.

"Musta been that woman," the assassin shook his head. "That..._thing_. She probably had some kinda mind-control powers. Kevin woulda _never_agreed to somethin' like this normally. She probably fucked with his head."

Elena hesitated. "Wait...what?"

By then, they were in front of the door. The man released her, shoving her toward her friends as he turned to make his escape.

Elena turned around, barely getting the word "Wait!" out of her mouth when a gun went off, and the man's blood spattered from her face to her legs as he dropped to the floor. On the other side, Reno held a smoking gun he'd pulled from the long-dead doorman, a look of anger and exhaustion on his face.

Normally the red-head would have had some witty comment to throw out after such a perfectly executed head shot, but it failed to form the moment he saw Elena. Covered in blood, she shook ever so slightly as she reached up, trying to wipe some of it from her face, but smearing it across her cheeks instead. His heart wrenched. Of course she'd seen worse, but there was something about the situation- the fact that she had changed- he didn't _want _her to go through this anymore. He didn't want her to have to wash blood off her hands or out of her hair; to sit in the car when he and Rude had to dump a body off a bridge, or hide in some ditch in the mud just to get away from people trying to kill them.

Characteristic smirk never appearing, he walked toward her, dropping the gun to the floor and pulling a white handkerchief from his jacket pocket. Stopping in front of her, he lifted her chin and began to gently clean her face. She shut her eyes, reveling in the touch of his warm hands on her skin for a few seconds before realizing how close they were and stepping back, muttering 'thank you' as she took the cloth from him and resumed the process.

Beside them, Rude cleared his throat. "That was only five." Everyone looked at him curiously. "Tseng said there were five more _after _the doorman. So six. This man was only five."  
>"The secretary," Elena blurted. "She attacked us in front of the elevator."<br>Tseng looked at her. "Did she escape?"  
>"No."<br>He hummed. "And Sheppard?"  
>"Left with Rufus." She exhaled deeply. "I'm not certain where they went, but I have the feeling they won't be coming back for a few days. Sheppard may not come back at all."<p>

They fell silent, the faint sound of the Tower alarms the only noise around them.

"So what do we do now?" Reno's voice was soft, and they all looked at him, then at each other.

Moments like this came often for the Turks. When they stood together in the eye of a storm that they knew wasn't quite over, but there wasn't anything they could do to prepare for the future- they didn't _know_ what Rufus ShinRa was planning to do, if he was planning anything at _all._They just knew that he was gone, and until he came back they needed to lay low.

"Split up," Tseng started, moving to one of the fallen assassin's bodies and pulling their gun for himself. "Find a safe haven, but stay in the city until he calls."

"We're going to _wait_ for him?" Elena asked incredulously.  
>"You want to get paid, don't you?"<p>

She knew he wasn't trying to be cold, but the words stung. Wincing, she lowered her gaze and crossed her arms.

"I call the borderline," Rude walked to the light-technician where she lay stirring in the floor. "I'm taking her with me."

He scooped her up and made for the door.

Reno raised an eyebrow. "You sure you wanna risk that?"  
>"She's not a very good fighter," the bald man assured him. "I'll call if I find out anything from her."<p>

He left, and Tseng looked at the two remaining.

"I'm going back to the Foreign Relations department. If you need to reach me, call Reeve."  
>"I'll go to the old Tower." Elena wrapped her arms around herself as she walked back to the stairs toward the exit she'd made. "See you in a few."<p>

Reno watched her go, not noticing that Tseng was waiting for his answer. When Elena reached the top of the stairs, she paused, looking back down at him.

"Reno."

He startled, looking at his leader. "The old Seventh Heaven bar in Edge. I'll go there."

Tseng nodded, then left. When Reno looked back up to the top of the stairs, Elena was gone.

He sighed, checking his EMR one more time before walking out the opposite way.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

It was sad to admit how much he felt at home in 7th Heaven.

Granted, he'd been to the one in the old slums way more than the newer one in Edge, but the build was almost the same and the atmosphere was something he'd missed. It wasn't crude and sick like most bars; even after the AVALANCHE gang had relocated to Rocket Town a few months ago, the people Tifa had left it to- some friends that had been working there before she left- kept the place up well.

They recognized Reno the moment he walked in, and- knowing at the time there was no conflict between the Turks and their boss- they welcomed him with a drink and the keys to a room.

"Thanks," he muttered sincerely, making his way up to the room.

Key 6- that was Yuffie's old place. The brat hadn't nested much in the new bar, meaning the room wasn't chocked full of her stuff, but you could still tell it was hers by the map of the northwest continent on the wall, the old Wutain rug on the floor, and the forest green silk sheets on a full-sized bed. Otherwise all that was in the room was a dresser with a mirror and chair, and a small bathroom.

As crazy as the ninja was, at least she had class.

He stripped off his jacket, tossing it to the bed as he walked to the bathroom to run some hot water in the sink. While it warmed, he unbuttoned his dirty dress shirt, shrugging it off his lanky frame and letting it fall to the floor. His shoes and socks joined the pile soon afterward, and he flexed his bare feet against the faded gray porcelain of the bathroom floor, adjusting to the cold. Bringing his head low to the faucet, he carefully cupped a handful of water and ran it over his face. Although it hadn't been _that_ long since his last shower, it felt incredible to have a clean face and hands- especially after fighting a good portion of the night. He never bothered to look in the mirror to check his cleanup job. Something about his reflection always bothered him- actually _seeing _the wear of the years in his eyes...he didn't like it.

It wasn't until he turned the water off that he heard the soft rap of someone's knuckles on the door.

Grabbing the hand towel off the rack, he quickly dried his face and left it on the edge of the sink, walking back into the bedroom. He was fairly certain it was one of the barmaids from downstairs making sure he was still good on his drink. Those girls were always good to make sure he had a full glass until he was done.

He pulled the door open. "I'm good, thanks-."

...It wasn't a barmaid. It was Elena.

Her eyes were red, she was still covered in blood, and she was shaking.

Reno didn't have to invite her, he just stepped out of the way and she walked in. As he closed the door, he turned to see her stepping out of her heels while walking toward the bathroom. She paused in the doorway, looking at her reflection in the mirror and sighing.

He shook his head; he knew that sigh. Grabbing his drink off the dresser, he took a long pull from it before setting it back, crossing to where she was and taking her by the shoulders.

"Don't look," he said softly, reaching around her to grab the hand towel from the sink and draping it over the glass. "It bothers you less if you don't."

She nodded, and he leaned into the shower to turn the water on. When he did, Elena turned to face him, brown eyes weary.

"Reno..."  
>"It's OK." He straightened up in front of her, taking her face in his hands. "We're gonna be alright, Elena."<p>

She pursed her lips, drew in a deep breath and raised her arms above her head, looking at him suggestively. He obliged, gently sliding his hands down to the hem of her dress and pulling it up the length of her body until she was free; he added it to his clothes in the floor.

Black was her color again, but this time the panties were all she wore. Her breasts, pale and pert, were completely bare. Reno felt the strangely familiar fire stir to life inside of him as he looked over her, but he resisted the urge to touch her.

That is, until she took his hand and did it herself.

Her skin was cold. Having just washed his hands, his was warm, and she sighed under his touch. Rolling a thumb over her nipple, he drew a small whimper from her- a plea.

It was over.

The red-head pulled the glass shower door back, allowing her time to step in before stripping off the rest of his clothes and following suit. Once they were closed in he stood behind her, gently running his hands up her arms and into her hair, washing what blood was left off in a few minutes. When she was clean she turned in to him, gently kissing his chest. He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers in a heavy, tense show of passion. They struggled to breathe under the water, gasping for air as their tongues met, adding fuel to the growing fire. Reno pushed her against the wall, the shock of cold against her back contrasting the heat between her legs. Reaching between them, she quickly found his arousal, and gently ran her fingers along the length.

"Oh god," he moaned into her mouth. Turning his head, he trailed his lips down to her neck, sucking on the sensitive flesh at her shoulder. She gasped, drawing her hands back up to his shoulders and wringing her fingers into his hair.

"Reno," she whispered, "please, touch me."

He listened, carefully running a hand over her breasts and skimming down to her heat, where one finger rolled over the sensitive spot and drew a moan that made him weak. Moving to two fingers, he reached down with his other arm and guided her leg up, letting it rest in the crook of his elbow as he continued to stroke her.

"Reno...Reno..." She dropped her head back, the hot water steaming off her chest as her breathing became labored. "Right there, don't stop!"

She came quickly, gripping his scalp as her free leg drew up and braced her body against the wall. Reno slid his hands to hold her under her thighs, and she pressed her feet against the far wall to hold herself up as he positioned himself in front of her.

When he slid in, her eyes rolled back and she moaned. It only made him harder.

"Elena..."

The rhythm picked up quickly, and her own need returned with a vengeance as he drove into her for several minutes until finally she came again, the scream that ripped from her throat echoing off the walls and into the bedroom. Reno didn't care though, he _wanted _her to scream, to call out, to _want him_.

It went on for a while longer, until he finally reached his own climax, groaning into her neck as he rode his pleasure out and held her in his arms. She relaxed her legs, letting her fingertips rest down on his biceps as they stood under the water in silence.

When they finally decided to get out, the sound of someone knocking at the door caught their attention. Reno wrapped a towel around his waist and answered it- this time pleased to see it _was _one of the barmaids.

"Just checking to see if you needed another drink?"  
>"Sure," he smiled. Then, glancing back at Elena. "Bring two, would you? We're gonna be up for a while."<p>

The girl nodded, walking back downstairs. Reno shut the door and turned toward the blonde as she sauntered out of the bathroom, a playful smirk on her full lips.

"Round two?"  
>He laughed. "Round two."<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**A/N: Yes, the assassin's reference to the woman with Rufus is a foreshadowing of The Fire, in case you were wondering. XD**  
><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: For Shame

**A/N: Good morning! :)**

**I've started marking the lemon scenes with these (****), in case there are readers who prefer not to read them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, or any of the songs I'm using for the chapters of this fic.**

**Chapter Six: For Shame**

_"Excuse me, excuse me,_  
><em>But I might drink a little more than I should, tonight.<em>  
><em>And I might take you home with me if I could, tonight.<em>  
><em>And, baby, Ima make you feel so good, tonight.<em>  
><em>Cause we might not get tomorrow.<em>

_Tonight, I want all of you tonight._  
><em>Give me everything tonight.<em>  
><em>For all we know we might not get tomorrow.<em>  
><em>Let's do it tonight..." <strong><br>**_  
><em>-Give Me Everything<em>  
><em>~Pitbull (ft. Nayer and Ne-Yo)<br>_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quietly.

It was how they laid in the soft silence of the morning, childish smiles on both their lips as they faced one another in the warmth of their bed, holding hands.

It wasn't the first time in history Reno and Elena had woken up together- but _this _morning was definitely different. _This _morning they weren't on a mission, they weren't hiding from anyone, and their lives weren't in some form of imminent danger.

Not to mention they'd slept together the night before.

In a way, this morning made all the ones before it seem a little brighter in their memories. Usually the old days had involved lying under floorboards or some other tight quarters, sleeping in shifts with their weapons out of safety and in hand- never holding one another, but huddling close to stay warm.

Sleeping like _this_ beat missions involving claustrophobia _any _day.

Moving closer, Elena raised her head and turned her back into Reno's chest as he slid one arm under her pillow and wrapped the other around her, framing her body against his. Their shapes fit perfectly, and it was something they both silently took note of. Dozing a while longer, they were almost too comfortable to move when the sound of someone at the door broke the silence.

"Room service Reno- breakfast."

They heard the tray rattle a bit as the girl crouched to set it on the floor in the hall, then her footsteps padded away. Leaning forward, Reno pressed a few kisses into the nape of Elena's neck before sliding away from her and walking to the door. He paused to put on his boxers, just in case someone was still outside, then quickly grabbed the small tray out of the hallway and brought it back to bed.

Elena sat up, drawing the silk sheet over her chest as he set the stand over her lap and crawled in next to her. Splitting what was on the plate, they slowly worked through the food and coffee, eventually waking up enough to talk.

"Sleep OK?"  
>"Mm," she nodded, mouth full. "Best I have in a long time."<p>

She wasn't looking at him, but there was a smile on her face that made his insides warm and fuzzy. He quirked his lips.

"How long ya think we got 'til the Boss calls?"  
>"Who knows." She shrugged. "Didn't we expect him to call the day after he let us go last time? It could be another five months."<br>"So long as he pays us, I don't really care."  
>"Hm."<p>

Just like the night before, that irritating twinge of shame irked on her nerves. Taking a sip of her coffee, she wrapped her arms around herself.

"It bothers you now, doesn't it?"  
>Her brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him. "Huh?"<br>"Gettin' money for the things we do," he explained, taking his own mug and leaning back on the headboard beside her. "It rags on your conscience, don't it?"

Curling her lips in, she looked down. "I don't know, maybe?" She furrowed her brow. "I just... I feel like things are different now. Sephiroth is gone, Kadaj and his crew are gone; why should we have to fight anymore?"

She looked back up to him hesitantly, silently pleading to give her something to work with. Reno drew one knee up, resting an arm across it as he pondered for a moment, then looked at her.

"I think we're working for change. For a better Planet. We're just trying to pick up what's left of our world and get it goin' on the right track again, yeah?"

"But under _Rufus?_" She sighed. "Maybe when he was sick- that's the _only _time I've seen him anywhere close to humble- willing to work for the betterment of society- but now? It sounds like he's gotten involved with some shady people again. He may even be _worse_ now."

They let the conversation taper off into silence, finishing their breakfast in a few slow minutes, then setting the tray to the side and resuming their previous position of spooning.

"No one says you gotta do this forever, Laney."  
>She nuzzled into his arm. "I know. But I like the people I work with."<p>

The last part came out with inflection, and Reno grinned, holding her tighter. She laughed softly, turning into him and planting a few soft kisses on his lips. Just when things were starting to lead somewhere, he pulled back.

"Hey, is your friend still havin' that weekend party?"  
>It took her a second to process the question, then her eyes lit up. "Yes...?"<br>"We should go."

She stared at him, lips slowly curling into a smile. "OK." She started to pull the covers back. "We'll just have to stop by my apartment so I can change-."

Reno kissed her again, shaking his head. "It a little bit."

Understanding, Elena let out a breathy "Yeah" and pulled the covers up, rolling onto her back as he gently pushed her down.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

"So he hired you a month ago."

The dark-haired, clumsy assassin flitted her green gaze to the shaded Turk holding her captive.  
>"Yes."<p>

Inwardly, she cursed herself for being so weak. -Especially when she wasn't anywhere _close_ to feeling 'tortured. The man hadn't even properly tied the ropes holding her to the chair she sat in, for Ifrit's sake.  
>But damnit if he weren't cute- <em>and <em>nice.

He was _feeding _her breakfast.

Pancakes, to be specific, and bacon; plus, the coffee he'd made was the best she'd ever tasted. Hell, he was cooking better for _her_ than she cooked for herself! Perhaps she _would _draw this sorry-ass excuse for an interrogation out. If he was this good at breakfast, maybe he would take requests for lunch and dinner?

"And your colleagues?"  
>"They were a team- the five of them. I think your Boss had initially wanted to hire us all separately, but he realized the amount of assassins qualified to take on someone of Turk skill-level either didn't exist or didn't come one at a time."<br>"Except you."  
>"Eh." She shrugged. "I seem to be an exception to most rules."<p>

Rude hummed softly, placing a piece of bacon in her mouth.

"What about you? I heard the Turks were gone for a while. What happened?"  
>"Boss said he wanted to try somethin' new. Guess he had a change of heart."<br>She raised an eyebrow. "You really buy that?"  
>"No," he paused to feed her another bite, "but I don't really care."<p>

She laughed, and he dared to smile slightly. He finished feeding her the plate and offered her more coffee.

"This is the nicest captivity I've ever been forced to endure."  
>"I try."<p>

He went to go refill her mug and grab one for himself, a moment in which she slid her hands from the ropes that held her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited to surprise him when he turned back around.

Of course, he didn't have to. "I was wondering when you would get tired of pretending those were actually holding you."  
>She snorted. "And yet you <em>still<em> fed me."  
>Returning to the couch in front of her, he handed off her mug. "I'm surprised you let me."<p>

An impish smile, and she moved to sit beside him.

"So, anymore questions?"  
>He thought for a second. "Is there anything else I <em>should<em> know?"  
>Another indifferent shrug. "Not really. It was a job, we got hired, we attempted to kill a mark I'm pretty sure your Boss or his monster friend will murder soon anyway- if they haven't already."<p>

Apparently she didn't realize that Rude was missing a huge piece of this puzzle.

"...'Monster friend'?"

The assassin looked at him, tilting her head.

"...You haven't seen It yet, have you?"  
>"It seems I would remember a monster if I had seen one."<br>"I suppose you would." She popped her eyebrows, setting her mug down. "Well, I can tell you one thing- if you didn't know about her before, she's probably the reason he hired you back."  
>"So it's a woman?"<br>"Can't be sure. She's _shaped_ like a woman, but..."  
>He arched a brow. "But?"<p>

She shuddered. "You'll see. At least, I think you will. Surely he'll introduce you to her if he plans to keep the Turks around."

If Rude had cared more, he would have pressed the subject, but he really didn't care. In his experience, he had always found that _not_ knowing turned out better for him in the end than if he were nosy.

He stood, walking back to the kitchen. "You may leave now, if you like."

The woman startled. "...Just like that?"  
>Looking back at her, he nodded. "Yes."<br>"But...what if I have more information?"  
>"I don't need to know everything." Crossing the room, he opened the door leading out to the balcony. "There's an elevator down the hall that will take you to the lobby- it lets out to the street. Cabs run through here, if you need one to get home."<p>

She balked. He was kicking her out- and they hadn't even had _sex_.

"And here I was hoping to see what you would cook for lunch."

He paused, checking his watch before looking at her through his dark shades.

"While I do tend to keep company with people I don't know, I don't usually share my _living_ space with them."  
>It was an invitation, and she smiled. "Angelique."<br>With only a nod, he gestured to the extra chair on the balcony beside him. "Rude."

Angelique picked up her coffee and stepped outside, and he shut the door behind them.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

It was noon by the time Reno and Elena arrived at her friend's house for the party. A dozen or so people were there already- most of them having been there for the night before- but everyone was more than happy to see her when they arrived.

"Laney! You made it!"

Reno couldn't help but feel a little awkward as all of the younger twenty-somethings ran up to give Elena hugs. Granted, the majority of the crowd were all closer to his age, but there was so much energy in the room...he'd almost forgotten what his twenties were _supposed _to be like.

"Come on in, we've got mimosas and bloody marys!"

Well, at least they spoke the same language.

When they both had a drink in hand, they went and sat in the large living room with everyone else. Elena's friends continued to fawn over her for a few minutes, asking her about her weekend, asking her about Reno ("Is he _just_ your friend?" "He's so cute!" "What's up with those red things on his face?")... and she handled it all in stride. In fact, Reno had never seen her so calm and collected as she was right then, talking to _normal_ people about _normal _things.

After a good ten minutes of mingling, the group began to split to have their own conversations around the house. Elena returned to his side, and the two found a small bistro-table in the corner of the kitchen to sit.

"Nice friends."  
>"I like them," she smiled, glancing over the busy room. "They make me feel like I have a chance at being normal someday."<p>

He looked at her, seeing the dreamy glaze in her eyes.

"You know there's nothin' wrong with you, right?"  
>She raised her eyebrows, amused. "Reno. We just spent most of last night fighting a bunch of assassins while our Boss took the man we were protecting off to kill himself."<p>

A pause, and he muttered, "...normal is subjective."  
>Elena shook her head, chuckling. "I know."<p>

The front door opened and several more people came in, starting up the swarm again. The couple stayed where they were, watching avidly.

"Do you remember," Elena started, "right before you shot that guy last night...did you hear him say anything?"  
>Reno looked at her, shaking his head. "No...? Did he say something? I was kinda focused on aiming."<br>"When he was still holding on to me he said something about someone else with Rufus hiring him. Some-_thing_, actually."

He furrowed his brow. "'Thing'?"  
>"Yeah." She worried her lip a little. "I wonder what he was talking about."<br>As serious as it should have been, Reno looked bored. "Eh, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

She would have scolded him (in good fun, of course), but at that moment some of the partiers decided to make an announcement.

"Who wants to start up some beer pong?"

"Beer pong?" Elena crowed, looking at her phone. "It's barely one in the afternoon."

"Then I should have no problem winning." Reno finished the drink he had and sprang up from his chair, grabbing her hand. "Let's go!"

She barely got out 'what!' before the slack in her arm caught, and he was pulling her toward the dining room that was being set up for games. It was going to be a long day.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

"You saw this coming, didn't you?"

Tseng sighed, picking up his glass of scotch and taking a seat across Reeve by the fireplace in his office.

"I can't say I wasn't suspicious," he sipped the drink. "I suppose hope got the best of my judgment."  
>"There is nothing wrong in having hope. It's when we let it get in the way of things we know to be fact that it becomes an issue- but at that point it isn't really hope, is it?"<br>"Naivety, I would say."

"Mm." Reeve settled back in his chair. "At least you got to see everyone again."  
>"It was nice to see they were all doing well." He paused contemplatively. "And Elena's changed quite a bit."<br>"Oh?"  
>"She seems more balanced now; not as bottled up."<br>"That's good."  
>"Maybe," he shook his head. "I worry that she's starting to let too much in. The job will become too much if she is."<p>

Reeve chuckled. "Are you sure _you're_ not the one letting too much in?"  
>He smiled. "I've always let too much in. I just know how to handle it."<p>

The soft ring of a cell phone interrupted them, and Tseng reached into his suit coat pocket to retrieve his PHS.

"It's Rufus," he stated, then answered. "Tseng...Alright."

He hung up, tucking the device away before standing and tossing back the rest of his scotch with a bite.

"So soon, hm?" Reeve didn't move. "Is he wanting you to dump the body?"  
>"It isn't about Sheppard." He straightened his coat. "Something's happening in Kalm."<p>

As if on cue, Reeve's phone began to buzz on the table beside him. Flipping it open, the businessman hummed his greeting, and was answered by a very frantic sounding voice. After a few seconds, he hung up and stood, mimicking Tseng's move of downing his liquor.

"A raid."  
>"A setup, I'm sure."<br>"Goddammit." Reeve walked to the coat stand near the door, pulling his long jacket and sliding it on. "When will this carnage end?"  
>"Let's just get to the city."<p>

The men strode out of the office, and Reeve called for a driver to take them to the airship station.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Reno had been severely underestimated by his fellow pong players.

Old man. Lightweight. Ginger.

The last one didn't really fit with the first two insults, but all three were flung at him continuously for the beginning hour of the game. He'd let it go, knowing in the back of his mind that while he _was _competing against frat boys, he could drink them all under the table five times over.

At nearly 7PM, he'd done just that.

He had almost tapped out, but not for his own sake- the young man he was playing against could barely stand, and Reno was almost positive the kid was going to puke on the table if something didn't happen soon. The collapse came first- much to Reno's relief- and the Turk was crowned beer pong champion of the new year.

"Where the hell did you find this guy, Elena!" One of the boys crowed, clapping Reno on the back as he sauntered his way to the corner where she stood with her friends, watching him happily while sipping a beer.

"Eh, he's just some urchin I picked up at a bar," she teased with a wink that drove him wild. Taking her hand, he pulled her into the living room, where the furniture had been pushed back to the walls and music was playing for people to dance to.

It was crowded, but unlike the party from last night, it was fun. There was no one to watch over, no one to impress; the two just danced- well, Elena danced, Reno tried to keep up without falling over. He held onto her hips, her body moving against his with the beat, the intoxicating smell of her perfume making him more drunk in five minutes than his entire game of beer pong. They were on the floor for almost half an hour; the heat of the room and movement of bodies had sweat beading on her neck and face. Her hair was a mess- a sticky, blonde, beautiful mess.

In his opinion, he did good to keep his lips off of her for as long as he did.

When he _did _kiss her, she paused, sliding her hands up to his neck and pulling him closer. No one seemed to notice when they broke apart long enough to leave the room and disappear up the stairs.

The bass from the music drowned out everything beneath them as they made their way down the hall and into one of the vacant rooms at the end. Reno shut the door and locked it, turning around in time to meet Elena's hands against his shoulders. She shoved him back into the door, grabbing onto his shirt collar and pulling him down to keep their fit of passion going. His tongue found hers, and he reached down to grip her backside and pull her up, stumbling the few feet to the bed and collapsing on the mattress with a gasp.  
>******************<p>

The act of removing clothes was almost _too _easy for them, but unlike the night before, Reno intended to draw this encounter out a bit longer. Pressing her back, he kissed along her neck and down, pausing at her breasts just long enough to unclasp her bra and remove it, then tasting each nipple before moving further.

She didn't resist, mewling softly when his breath reached her heat. Gently he pulled her panties off, then nuzzled the spot he knew needed attention.

"Reno," she breathed, arching into him, begging.

He smirked, enjoying the control he had over her. When his tongue flicked between her folds she bucked, moaning. He grabbed onto her hips, holding her down as his more primal instincts kicked in and he drew more of her arousal out, rolling on her pearl and sucking until she came the first time, moaning while her small hands wound into his red hair and gripped with a fierceness that drove him crazy.

He pulled away from her, taking her by the waist and moving her to sit up. She obeyed, pushing him to sit at the head of the bed with his back against the board while she straddled him, holding onto the slats behind him as she moved.

Reno's head dropped back with a groan. She was so slick, so _perfect_, everything about her made him ache. When she came a second time on top of him, he pushed her back down to the bed and took over, sliding in to the hilt and driving her over the edge with a few good thrusts.

The last climax came slowly, and she struggled to breathe as she looked up at him.

"With me?"

He nodded, moving faster. She arched into him as she broke, and he crashed a few seconds later, the two of them collapsing in a heap of breathlessness.

**************  
>Several minutes of ragged breathing passed, and they worked together to get off the bed before separating- Elena rushing to the bathroom while Reno went to answer the phone that was going off in his pocket.<p>

"Yeah?"  
>"Go to Kalm. There's an insurgent there attempting to start an uprising against me and I need him dealt with immediately."<br>"Right."

That was the conversation. Rufus hung up, and Reno snatched up Elena's pants from the floor just as her phone started ringing. She opened the bathroom door to the sound, smile fading at the sight of Reno's solemn expression. Answering the call, the conversation was barely as lengthy as his own before she hung up and groaned.

"Guess we're going to Kalm."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

**A/N: Please review before you go! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7: Fire with Fire

**Chapter Seven: Fire with Fire**

_"Fall, fall out of trees, into the street, all on my own._  
><em>I finally found out how long I can hang on.<em>  
><em>I've got this all wrong. My heart is scared, my heart is gone<em>  
><em>Now, looking around, there's no one here to hear my fall...<em>

_I've got this now_  
><em>My legs are steady now<em>  
><em>The angels warned me never to fall down..."<em>

_-Falling Out of Trees_  
><em>~Barcelona<em>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
>Chaos was an odd thing to watch from above.<p>

Kalm was everything but its namesake as the small village blazed in the night, shining like a torch in the middle of an empty plain. From their place on the ShinRa airship hangar, Reno and Elena could barely make out the people flitting between the burning houses.

"All this for one guy?" He mused. "Kinda extreme."  
>"You know it's more than that." She leaned against the rail, shaking her head. "Something like this is never just 'for one guy.'"<p>

He glanced at her, but she didn't move. Humming softly, he turned the other way to look at Rude, who was- unsurprisingly- quiet. The bald man had asked no questions when the unofficial couple showed up late for takeoff; although that could have been likely due to his own tardiness. Even then, as curious as Reno tended to be, no interrogation ensued on his end. Frankly, he was too worn out.

"Whaddya think, Rude?"  
>He shrugged. "Could be an insurgent, could be nothing. Could be Sheppard."<p>

Reno snorted. The thought of Rufus's pretty-boy 'best bud' scrapping up the balls to make a run for it was just short of comical. On the other hand, the idea that he even _might _have made it out of ShinRa Tower alive was a stretch.

_"Attention passengers, we will be landing in five minutes. I repeat: airship touchdown in five minutes."_

"Guess that's our cue." Reno adjusted his goggles, smirking at Rude's shoulders as the older man walked away. "You ready?"  
>"Always."<p>

He looked back at Elena, who was still watching the raid with quiet interest.

"Laney?"  
>She shrugged. "I guess I have to be. Come on, let's go see what this really is."<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello? This is Reeve Tuetsi. I'm trying to reach...Hello? Can you hear me? ...Damn." Reeve snapped his PHS shut with a grunt. "Lost signal."

"The entire village appears to be losing power, sir." A young shipmate announced from one of the control panels. "And something is blocking most of the radio airspace."

"Rufus, most likely," he muttered, tightening a fist. "Gods damn it all."

Across the room, Tseng looked over Kalm from the picture window.

"He's probably draining the power for something."  
>"That and it keeps anyone with a camera from recording what's happening."<br>"Mm."

The airship began its descent just outside the cloud of smoke that covered the village. In the distance, another airship could be seen landing on the other side of the flames.

"Your friends, I'm sure." Reeve said with more than a hint of distaste in his tone.  
>"Relax, they're as skeptical about the situation as we are."<p>

"And yet you appear to be the only one using your head about it." Reeve strode over to an empty space at the control panel and switched on a screen. "Computer, locate and access visual from current Cait Sith model."

A few beeps sounded from the board before it whirred to life, the display flashing an array of colors as it cut through the scrambled airspace to find the GPS chip attached to Cait Sith's optical wiring.

"Rufus may be smart, but he isn't smarter than me."

The screen went white as it connected to the bot, and moments later the camera came into focus on Rufus, who was standing on the other side of the room with his double-barrel drawn on an Elder of the town.

"Please, President ShinRa, don't-."

The gun went off, and yelps of fear escaped everyone around as the old man crumpled to the floor. The white-coated villain didn't even blink.

"Well, that was useless." He turned to the group of hostages he held- somewhere around twenty in all- and, after a few seconds, pointed his gun at a middle-aged woman, motioning her up. "Next."

The woman cried, and those beside her whimpered in protest as she reluctantly stood and made her way to the front of the room where the Elder had just been.

"Now," Rufus gave an exaggerated breath, "let's try this again, shall we? Who here knows where I can find the _mayor_?"

Nervous chatter broke out, but no one answered. He frowned.

"No one? _No one_ here knows where the mayor of _your town_ is?" Raising his arms he turned to face them, reveling in the gasps that escaped as the aim of his gun passed over them. He dropped his stance, feigning disappointment. "Such a shame. Usually in a group at least _one_ person would know where the most _prominent _figure of their town is."

He turned on his heel and walked over to the woman, gripping her chin with his free hand and jerking her gaze up to him.

"Perhaps you know someone _else_ who might know how to find him then? Someone who could maybe..._call someone_?"

It was a cue. For the first time since the transmission started, Cait Sith spoke.

"Bloody hell."

"He's fishing." Reeve leaned against the panel, watching the scene intently. "He wants us to do something."

"Oh really, detective?" Cait's hushed, irritated tone came back through the speaker. "You've been watching all of five minutes and you think you've solved the puzzle? What was your first clue?"

Tseng quirked his lips. Reeve rolled his eyes.

"How long has this been going on?"  
>"See the four bodies in the corner?"<br>"Yes."  
>"About that long."<br>"Gods..." He pushed away, running a hand down his face. "What does he want?"  
>"It isn't a 'what.' It's a 'whom.'"<p>

Interest piqued, Reeve and Tseng crowded the monitor once more as Cait Sith fell silent, gaze calm but frozen on the terrorist in front of him. The woman was shaking, barely able to hold herself up despite Rufus's iron grip on her jaw. The President stared at her, slowly pressing the barrel of his gun against the center of her chest.

"Such a shame. Another life, gone to waste."

"You can't let him kill her." Reeve shook his head. "Cait, you have to say something."  
>"She's already dead, lad. It doesn't matter what I say."<br>"Goddammit _try!_"

A pause, and Cait Sith spoke loud enough for Rufus to hear.

"Who do you want me to call?"

If Reeve had been there, he would have felt the theatrical air in the room shift. Rufus never looked at the cat. Not as his fake enthusiasm faded, not as released his hostage and shoved her away, not even as he raised his gun a little further and shot her through the head.

"All of them," he replied, turning and walking out of the building. "Call every last one of them."

Reeve released a held breath, slumping against the screen in defeat. Tseng, having seen this move from his younger 'boss' many times since he took over for his Father, simply pulled his gun from its holster and checked it over, chambering it.

"He's trying to draw out AVALANCHE."

Reeve was still staring at the screen, sweat beading on his forehead as he strained over his next move.  
>Cait remained in his place, the calamity of everyone around him running out of the room nothing more than static over the microphone.<p>

"Reeve?" His thickly-accented voice came in clearly-but-quietly through the noise. "What would you like to do?"

After a minute of silence, the Foreign Relations head stood upright, shouldering the situation as he had so many before it.

"Call the team. Let them know it's a setup, then start evacuating the village."

The screen cut off, and Reeve followed Tseng off the grounded airship to start into Kalm.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

The sound of people screaming could be heard from every direction as the trio entered the village.

"Okay, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for here?" Reno asked over the commotion.  
>"An insurgent," Rude reminded him, "someone rallying an uprising against the President."<br>"I don't even see any SOLDIERs."

His comment trailed off into the shrieks around them. Elena shook her head.

"The only thing rising up here is a fire. We need to find Tseng."

Silently agreeing with their blonde counterpart, the two men followed her to the center of the village, where someone else familiar caught their eye.

"The Sith." Rude deadpanned.  
>Reno raised his eyebrows. "Huh, whaddya know. Wonder if his buddies are here?"<p>

They watched for a few moments as the cat-mog excitedly hopped about, waving his arms at someone only he could see whilst yelling into what had to be a microphone built into the back of the mog's head. From their distance, none of them could make out what he was saying, but whatever it was seemed frantic.

"He might be talking to Reeve." Elena moved forward. "He might know where Tseng is."

Again, the men followed her. As they neared him, Cait Sith glanced up, a look of annoyance flashing in his tiny face before he began hopping to the nearest building that wasn't on fire. At first it seemed like he was running, but he stopped at the door and waited for them to catch up before entering in.

Once inside, the noise level dropped considerably, and the cat turned on his puppet to face the Turks as they shut the door behind them.

"I don't suppose you three have a bloody clue as to what's goin' on?"  
>"We were going to ask you the same thing." Rude replied coolly.<br>Cait grumbled. "Not surprising."  
>"Hey," Reno cooed. "it isn't like we've been gone for a while or anything- give us a break. We just got here!"<br>"Of course you 'just got here.' You three are late for _everything-_!"

"Where's Tseng?"

Elena seemed to be the only one on track- Rude's stoic approach not counting- and she wasn't about to let the conversation spiral any more out of control than it already was.

Cait Sith looked at her. "He's with Reeve. They've just entered the town to look for the mayor, and asked that I begin evacuating villagers as soon as possible."

"So you thought you'd stop to make a phone call?" Reno snorted. "_That_ sounds like following orders."  
>"I was, actually," he shot back. "But that particular order came from <em>your <em>boss. Right before he shot an innocent civilian in the face."

They stared at him, and he reveled in their shocked confusion bitterly.

"Oh, you didn't know? Yes, Turks; President ShinRa is here on some sort of blooming tirade- _claiming _to be looking for the mayor when he really just wants me to call the rest of AVALANCHE!"

The speechlessness lasted only a second.

"W-What? Why would he need them?" Elena looked at her partners. "I thought this would be about Sheppard-."  
>"He's got to have some sort of agenda up his sleeve." Reno said. "I mean, <em>two<em> staged raids in _one _weekend?"  
>"This doesn't seem to be very staged," Rude added calmly. "Burning an entire village is about as real as it gets."<p>

"Deception is key when greed is involved." Cait shook his head sadly. "I don't know what he's up to, but it can't be good if none of you know what's going on."

Suddenly the door opened behind them. In staggered an older man, beaten and bloody; he was followed by Rufus ShinRa. The President didn't bother to close the door, and only looked mildly intrigued when he saw three of his employees standing before him with one of his enemies.

"Ah, there you are." He motioned to the man he'd brought in. "Cait, it might appease your handler to know I've found the Mayor."

"There's no further need for this charade, ShinRa," Cait Sith spat, not intimidated as he moved to help the elderly man that had collapsed to the floor. "I've already made the call."

"Regardless, I know the safety of the people is Reeve's highest concern. This is a trait I had assumed he would have instilled in you, but judging by our last little standoff-."

"You can't save people who are already dead, Rufus," he cut him off. "Those villagers were branded the moment you pulled your gun-."  
>"Such a lack of morality. Were you not programmed to <em>feel<em>-?"

"_Insight_ should never be overruled by 'feelings' when it comes to hard-wire!" The cat paused his passive curative spell casting to face the human. "At least _I _was created this way; you have no excuse!"

Rufus let the speech hang for a moment, amused.

"Your need to lecture me only proves you hold emotion," he started calmly, "but you're right. It should never overrule insight. Something I'm certain Reeve would never do." Reaching into his long-coat, he retrieved his gun as he made his way across the room. "So tell me, _puppet_, who taught you to _feel_?"

Silence grew thick as a secret only they could share became known between them. On the floor, the Mayor groaned in pain; to the side, the Turks remained quiet.

Cait Sith furrowed his brow. "Your eyes..."

Behind them, Reeve and Tseng appeared.

"Mayor Gino!"

Instantly the room was in a clamor. Rufus turned, cocked his gun, and prepared to shoot his Foreign Relations leader, but was interrupted by Cait Sith throwing a mediocre Bolt spell into his back. The Mayor forced himself up, stumbling to keep his balance. Rufus turned again and, seeing the broken man moving, went to aim.

"No!" Elena sprang into action, lunging in front of the target with a Protect spell ready around them. The bullet deflected, grazing Rude's arm. The Turk didn't flinch, but frowned at the new hole in his suit coat.

Rage filled Rufus's eyes as he watched his subordinate protect his hostage.

_"You._" He moved toward her. Cait Sith went to intercept, not anticipating the President's gun as he absently raised it and shot, blowing a hole through the robot's chest.

"Cait!" Reeve cried, rushing to catch the hollow robot as it fell off the mog.

Rufus reached Elena. Despite the confidence she held in her ability to fight, there was something in the man's eyes- something _unnatural_- that terrified her, and she didn't fight as he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

"You have defied me _enough _times for one weekend."

Raising his gun, he cocked it once more.

"President Shin-!"

In a moment of panicked bravery, Reno- finally out of his shock- shot forward, cutting off his own yelp of protest with his EMR as he jabbed it into the side of the President and switched it on full blast. The shock lifted Rufus off his feet and threw him across the room into a bookshelf; Elena fell to the floor as she was forcefully released, gasping for air. Reno rushed to her side.

Distantly, the sound of another airship landing outside of Kalm pierced through the chaos.

Mayor Gino looked across the room at Reeve. "Go! And take it with you. This creature has no business with what was given to you. No good will come from it!"

Reeve looked at him hard for a moment, before giving an understanding nod and running out of the building. No one tried to stop him.

Rufus struggled to his feet, brushing dust and broken wood from his once-pristine coat as he rose, eventually coming to a rest leaning on his gun like a cane. His hair was a mess, he was bloody, and his eyes were insane.

Reno held Elena by the shoulders as he crouched next to her, fierce gaze hiding the knot of fear building in his throat. Not only had he just defied his boss, he'd _attacked _him. He'd attacked him to protect someone from being killed.

No, not just someone- _Elena_.

Emotion flooded him. How had this happened? This...switch? The tiny blonde leaned heavily against him as she labored to breathe. Aside from Rufus nearly crushing her windpipe, the building they were in had finally caught fire, and the room was beginning to fill with smoke.

Before the psychotic leader of ShinRa could make a move, Tseng calmly cleared his throat.

"AVALANCHE is here, Sir."

Rufus snapped his attention to the oldest Turk, then looked past him to the skylights that were descending on the village. Shifting into his own train of thought, the weakened man turned to the vacant stuffed mog in the corner. Rushing to it, he looked it over frantically before turning to the Mayor, who wasn't much better off himself.

"Where is it?" He croaked out, moving to the older man and taking him by the front of his shirt. "Where did you put it?"  
>"Where did <em>I <em>put it?" He echoed, daring to laugh weakly. "Rufus, that stone was never mine to put anywhere. You know where it was, but now it is gone, and you'll have to face AVALANCHE to get it."

Rufus glared at him, seeing the truth in his face, then turned and stormed out of the house, releasing a bloodcurdling scream as he went.

None of the Turks had a clue as to what had just happened.

"This weekend has been all kinds of fucked up," Rude blurted, completely out of character.  
>"I feel it's going to get worse before it gets better." Tseng looked at the two in the floor. "Are you alright?"<p>

Elena nodded, coughing. Reno scrunched his nose.

"I think we might need to go into hiding. Or sign up for reconstructive plastic surgery."

"May I suggest we leave this place first?" The Mayor held a shaky hand to point at the door, attempting to move forward. He tripped, and Tseng caught him by the arm. Nodding thanks, he kept talking. "It's been a terrible day, and I'd hate to say we made it this far only to die in a fire because we couldn't stop talking."

They led the way out, and the three followed close behind.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Hours passed before the flames devouring Kalm were fully extinguished. Deeming it unsafe to return to their airship, Tseng suggested taking refuge with the Mayor in one of the bunkers just outside the village, away from the flames and out of the accusing eyesight of AVALANCHE.

To say it was a 'hole in the ground' would have been insulting. The hideout, built in response to the event of Meteor, was practically a village itself; situated entirely underground and hidden only by a simple patch of shrubs planted in no particular pattern.

It was where most of the village had gone, in fact, and Tseng couldn't help but wonder if Reeve had known it had been there all along.

But no questions were asked- not right away, anyhow. Shortly after their arrival the Mayor was taken to a sort of infirmary to be assessed, while the Turks were taken to the underground bar...naturally.

"I would say 'I can't believe this is happening,'" Reno spoke dully into his glass, "but I'd be lying."

Rude nodded a sullen agreement, twisting a beer bottle in his palm as he watched Tseng calmly clean his gun in the seat across from him.

"Do you think he'll come back?"

Tseng paused to glance at him. The eldest Turk was never one to assume things, especially about their boss- who was almost the perfect picture of unpredictable. Still, he was usually very good at predicting things when he did.

"I'm not sure," he left the shaded man hanging. "This 'raid' obviously had much more to do with AVALANCHE and the Mayor than some make-believe insurgent."  
>"Well, yeah." Reno replied. "We kinda knew that from the go, didn't we? What we <em>don't<em> know is what he _is_after." He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the edge of the table. "It seems to me like the Mayor might be in on some things we aren't."

Tseng hummed in response, and the red-head looked to Elena, who had been sitting quietly beside him.

"What do you think, Laney?"

Her brown eyes flitted to meet his, as if he were bringing her out of some distant thought.

"I..I don't know." She rubbed her neck, where small imprint bruises from Rufus's fingertips had begun to form. "I think I'm going to go lie down."

Pushing away from the table, she excused herself and left the bar for the quarters they'd been told would be theirs that night. Reno, surprised, watched her leave, swallowing down the knot in his throat and trying to not look as though he suddenly didn't care about anything but her.

Which he didn't.

"Reeve should be back in the morning." Tseng went on as though nothing had happened. "I imagine we'll have the chance to talk to both him and the Mayor then."  
>"Possibly all of AVALANCHE, too." Rude sighed. "It will most likely be...unpleasant."<p>

Reno didn't add anything, but he more than understood. The Turks and AVALANCHE had never really been on the same level when it came to fighting or morals- hell, the few times they'd ever worked together were to save their own members or save the whole world. In other words; extreme cases only.

Seeing their normally obnoxious/loud cohort quiet was more of a sign that something was up than if he'd just come out and said it. Rude had an idea, but Tseng knew that look.

"You should go check on her."

Reno looked at them, neither man returning the gesture. Clearing his throat, he stood, deciding it better not to fight it.

"Yeah, I think I will."

He left the table, unaware that the glass of whiskey he'd left behind was nearly halfway full.

Rude looked at the drink as another sign, and sighed.

"This could be problematic."  
>"It already is," Tseng replied. "And we need to figure out what to do before Rufus kills them both."<br>~~~~~~~~

While the underground of Kalm was much quieter than the village entirely, the Inn quarters seemed dead silent, save the distant, gentle whirring of the power generator several floors below. The Inn was empty, for the most part, and the rooms appointed to the Turks were set toward the back of the wing, which meant even less noise.

It didn't take long for Reno to find her, knowing she would never leave her bedroom door wide open, the only room in the hall that was closed off was where she would be. Quietly he picked the lock and let himself in, locking it back behind him.

She didn't flinch at the sound of his footsteps; she knew it was him. No one else would be dense enough to just barge in unannounced. Then again, with Reno, she didn't really consider it 'barging in.'  
>She was curled up in the corner bed, bare shoulders just visible above the blanket as she faced the wall. He padded over to her, silent, stripping his blazer and button-up off as he went and tossing them to the vacant twin beside her. Pulling the covers back, he slid in, holding the sheets up a bit longer when Elena turned in the bed to face him.<p>

His heart broke. The younger woman's eyes were dark from the prolonged lack of oxygen and her neck- which had only begun bruising a short time ago- was covered in purple splotches from Rufus's death grip. It should have never happened, and Reno couldn't help but blame himself for not acting sooner than he did.

"We're dead, you know," she whispered, voice shaking. "You saved my life for now, but it's only going to cost you yours, too."

"Don't say that." He pressed a hand to the side of her face, running a thumb over her cheek. "I won't let it happen, OK? We're gonna find a way out of this. Reeve and the boys'll be here in the mornin', and we're gonna talk things over, yo. You understand?"

She sniffled, nodding as she leaned into his chest. He let his hand slide back to her hair, stroking it gently.

"Nothin's gonna happen to you, Laney."

She wanted to sob for so many reasons, but held back. It wasn't becoming of a Turk to show weakness to anyone, even if they fully trusted the person. Surprisingly, over the last few days, Reno had become the one she trusted the most. In the beginning she'd been so sure it was just about the sex, but now? Reno had _saved her life_, and not just from anyone, from _Rufus_.

It was becoming apparent that this fling was more than either of them had anticipated.

Thoughts of being taken from the man in front of her began to tear into her thoughts, and she struggled to fight them away. She couldn't face it; the scenario of their separation to stay alive was almost a certainty, and in spite of her inner scolding for being such an emotional little girl, her heart ached.

"Reno..." She breathed, the plea for him to hold her silent. He understood immediately, allowing her to weave her legs through his and sliding an arm under her head so she could move closer. They stayed like that until they fell asleep, the sound of their breathing the only other thing heard between them.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
>AN: I know, it's been a while. Hopefully the last chapter of this won't take as long to put up as this one did! Thanks for reading- please review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Plan to Plot

**Chapter Eight: Plan to Plot**

_"I went down to St. James Infirmary, saw my baby there._  
><em>She was stretched out on a long, white table-<em>  
><em>So cold, so sweet- so sweet, so fair.<em>

_Let her go, let her go, God bless her; Wherever she may be._  
><em>She can search this whole wide world over;<em>  
><em>She won't ever find another man like me..."<em>

_-St. James Infirmary  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~<em>

"Been awake long?"

Reeve glanced up from his work station as Tseng entered the small kitchen area of the underground, two cups of coffee in hand. Pulling the magnifying monocle from his eye, he set it to the side and graciously accepted the offer of caffeine.

"All night, actually. After Cloud and the others arrived, I helped them put out the fire and did infirmary detail until it seemed everything was under control. When they left, I retrieved my old model, salvaged the parts and came here to start on this one." He sat back in his chair with a sigh. "It's been a long night."  
>"I'm surprised you haven't stopped to rest. You can't keep running like this."<br>"I know, and I won't. I plan on sleeping as soon as I'm finished with this section of the bot."

Tseng nodded, and the two drifted into easy silence for several minutes. The calm of the morning was almost eerie, given the insanity of the night before, but neither man seemed to notice. To them, changes like this didn't mean much because it could all go away in an instant. Which it did.

"I believe we may have a problem on our end-."  
>"Surprise."<br>"-It concerns Elena and Reno."

It was the way he said it that gave Reeve pause. At first he dared to ask if Tseng was joking, but his expression was too solemn to question.

"Alright?"  
>"They've become...attached."<br>"I'm certain the same could be said for anyone in your group."

He raised a suggestive eyebrow, and Reeve tilted his head.

"Oh. I...I see." Picking up his monocle, he attempted to resume working on the robot. "Well, it _is_ Reno. You should have expected something like this to happen sooner or later."  
>"It seems to be more than that." Tseng assured him calmly. "Last night, Rufus attempted to take Elena's life, and Reno attacked him. He saved her."<p>

The involuntary flinch that erupted from Reeve sent his monocle clattering back to the table.

"And you're sure they aren't _already_ dead? Have you checked the room-?"  
>"The President was interrupted by AVALANCHE's arrival. Whatever he came to Kalm for was apparently out of reach, and he didn't dare to face them without it," he looked at him, "but that's another conversation entirely."<p>

Reeve caught the tone and shook his head. "If you're asking me the cause of your Boss's choice to burn down this village, I can assure you I don't know. Mayor Gino speaks in riddles and from the sound of it, whatever information that truly might have been helpful was lost in the old Cait Sith." He gave an exasperated sigh, sipping his coffee and going back to the original topic. "So he left, and they're still alive."  
>"Mm."<br>"And I'm guessing you want my help to keep them that way."  
>Tseng didn't answer. Reeve breathed deeply. "Very well, I'll see what I can do."<p>

"I may have a suggestion."

Reeve only paused at the sound of Rude's deep voice. Tseng looked over to see he was sitting in a chair right beside them.

The AVALANCHE member kept working. "How long have you been there, Rude?"  
>"A while."<br>"...Of course you have."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

The faint buzz of a phone alarm stirred Reno from his relatively deep sleep. Taking a second to reorient himself to where he was, he smiled at the sight and feel of Elena's blonde hair against his chest. Pressing a kiss into the mess, he slid the arm he had wrapped around her waist away long enough to stretch over to the bed beside them, retrieve his blazer, drag it to the floor and dig out his PHS.

Silencing the alarm, he was about to drop it when it buzzed again, this time with a text.

**::You need to come downstairs.::**

It was from Rude. He wrinkled his nose; that guy never sent texts. Ever. It must be something important...

(Then again, if it were that important why wouldn't he just come up here and get me himself?) He thought, answering his own question when he realized he didn't hear Elena's phone buzz with a message as well. (Must not want 'Laney around.)

Curiosity waking, the red-head carefully began extracting himself from the bed. He swore under his breath when the arm he pulled from under her body screamed with tingling sleep, but suffered through the eerie feeling to put his button-up on and grab his blazer. Throwing the jacket over his shoulder he started for the door.

"...Reno..."

His name came out drawn and sleepy, instantly making him smile. Turning to the bed he found Elena had rolled onto her back, the sheets clinging to her in all the right ways while her hair played perfectly over her eyes.

"Be back soon." He hopped over to her, leaning in for a few quick kisses before returning to the door. "Gonna go talk to Rude."

She didn't answer and he left, reveling in the warmth that had erupted in his chest. It was incredible; the things she'd stirred in him over the last few days. Things he'd only ever experienced _before_ he became a Turk and was taught not to feel _anything_, and even then romance had only ever been fleeting. Elena had somehow managed to make the emotions last longer than one night- she evoked them with just a _look_. She made him feel like he could...feel. It was unnerving.

...And practically forgotten the moment he made his way down into the kitchen to see Rude, Tseng, and Reeve sitting around a table.

Reeve hovered over what appeared to be the skeleton of a Cait Sith model, which looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Reno shirked.

"Gross."  
>"Good to see you alive, Reno." Reeve ignored his remark, intent on his work.<br>"Please Reno." Tseng intercepted before any smart-ass comments could be made. "Take a seat."

There was a strange air surrounding the group as the red-head sat. He looked at them all cautiously, feeling as though he were about to be scolded for something. He had a good idea as to what that was.

"Look, if this is about last night-."  
>"You have to stop seeing Elena."<p>

He balked, then caught himself and shook his head.

"What does that have to do with anything?"  
>"You're letting this relationship get in the way of your work." Tseng went on. "It's distracting you."<br>Reno furrowed his brow. "How is it-?"  
>"You attacked the Boss last night." Rude reminded him. "It's not good, Reno."<p>

"So what, you two would have just let him kill her?" He wasn't shocked by their coldness, but he was certainly irritated. He turned to Reeve. "He would have killed the Mayor too, you know."

"I have no dog in this fight, Reno."

"The point is," Tseng continued, "your actions have put the both of you in great danger. Something I'm sure you've already thought of."

"I-I was thinking of a way to keep her safe-."  
>Rude tilted his head. "How's that?"<br>"I don't know!" He shouted back, standing. "I'll protect her somehow, I-...I could take her away from here!"

Rude continued to stare at him, unreadable. Tseng calmly took a sip of his coffee before looking to Reeve, whose expression was nothing but sympathetic.

"You understand this better than I do." He was watching Reno, but talking to Tseng.  
>"I do." He replied. "But you're still the only one who can help them."<br>"Help us _what_?" Reno cut in angrily. "What the hell are you two talking about!"

"Reno, sit down." Tseng instructed. "What we have to discuss now is becoming time-sensitive, and you need to listen very, very carefully."

Reno glared at him, silently retaking his seat. Sighing, Reeve set down his tools and pushed Cait Sith aside.

"This may not end well."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

_"Does it bother you?"_

_A taller, slightly darker blonde-headed girl turned to face the much younger Elena where she stood in the doorway, hands nervously wringing into her skirt._

_"What?" She asked, tone level._  
><em>"You know…murdering people."<em>

_Her sister narrowed her eyes, then continued her task of packing._

_"I don't 'murder people,' Elena."_  
><em>"But the kids at school said-."<em>  
><em>"Do you always listen to the kids at school?"<em>

_She fell quiet. Why was Sister so angry? She never used to snip at her like that…_

_"What __do you do then?" She dared to ask softly after a moment._

_"I protect people. I keep the bad guys away."  
><em>_Elena hummed, walking over to sit on the bed. "So you don't have to murder anyone?"  
><em>_Sister paused at her suitcase, this time passing a glare at her. "Stop saying it like that."  
><em>_"So no one dies?"_

_She stared at her, before deciding with a sigh that angry looks were useless. Sliding the case to the side, she sat down on the bed in front of Elena._

_"'Laney. There is a difference between murdering someone and killing them."  
><em>_"So people DO die."  
><em>_She rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple."  
><em>_"How much simpler could it get?"  
><em>_"There's nothing wrong with what the Turks do, Elena. We keep Midgar- the Planet, even- safe."  
><em>_"Then why do you look so sad?"_

_Sister sat silently for a few seconds, then gently rubbed her hand down Elena's arm and stood, returning to her packing._

_"You'll understand someday, little sister."_

_Downstairs, their mother's voice called up to her, saying the car had arrived to take her away._

_"Coming!" She called back, shutting her suitcase._

_"How long will you be gone this time?"  
><em>_"I'm not sure." She pulled the box from the bed, walking to the door.  
><em>_"Will I ever see you again?_

_Sister stopped, turning to her with a watery smile. Elena hopped off the bed and ran to her, hugging_ _her around the waist._

_"I love you."_

_She never replied, and soon Elena was alone. Turning back to the bed she flung herself onto the mattress and cried bitter, little girl tears, nearly swearing to never get up again until she heard a car door slam below. Springing to the window, she looked down just in time to see her older sister look up. The two locked eyes for a moment, and then the car pulled away._

_It was in that instant that Elena knew she could never be a Turk. She could never handle the sadness of going away from everyone she loved, and she wouldn't._ _Ever._

~~~  
>"Elena."<p>

She groaned into the pillow, forgetting for a spell that she wasn't a child trying to sleep in on a Saturday anymore. That is, until Rude flung back the covers and the ice cold of the underground morning air hit her bare skin.

"Sh-it!" she hissed, grabbing a pillow to cover her breasts and twisting to face him angrily. "Seriously?"

He didn't seem fazed. "Boss says it's time to go, so let's go."

She glared at him. Being a Turk, it wasn't the first time he'd seen her in barely more than her underwear- hell, there were multiple occasions when Rude had changed her clothes _for_ her simply because she wasn't conscious to do so herself. He probably knew her measurements better than most of ShinRa's tailors. Even still, she didn't enjoy him seeing so much of her while she could help it.

"Fine," she mumbled, leaning forward to grab a sheet for temporary cover. "Give me ten minutes."

"Five." He corrected, leaving the room. "The ship leaves in fifteen."

Elena rolled her eyes, sliding from the bed to begin getting dressed.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Reno nervously tapped his fingers across the leather armrest of Reeve's car.

"We aren't going fast enough."  
>"Of course we are." The mechanical expert replied coolly from the seat across from him. "We'll be there in five minutes."<br>"Yeah, right."

Reeve never looked up, continuing to meddle with his model like a woman absently crocheting. It was infuriating to Reno, the way he could work even in a speeding vehicle. It said a lot for his ability to focus and his priorities- which, to Reno's dismay, didn't seem to include him.

"What Reeve is doing right now is purely a favor." Tseng's level, fatherly tone came from beside him. "You shouldn't be so ungrateful."  
>"I'll be grateful when this is all over with." He muttered, turning his gaze to the window again.<p>

In the distance a small plane had come into view, and he could just barely make out the form of Cid Highwind leaning against the side of it, smoking a cigarette.

Reno hummed. "You got the old man himself to come out?"  
>"He's the only one skilled enough to get you to the Tower before ShinRa's airship." Reeve paused to look up at him. "Like Tseng said, 'purely a favor.'"<br>"He doesn't know I'm coming, does he?"  
>"...No."<p>

He smirked, adjusting his goggles as the car reached its destination and the driver stepped out to open the doors for them.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

The flight back was silent. Elena had cut corners to get to the ship in less than fifteen minutes and was somewhat surprised at how easily she made it. It seemed she moved faster when Reno wasn't around to distract her.

Then again, Reno wasn't around to distract anyone at the moment.

It was a question she didn't bother asking. She knew the others had seen him come into her room last night, not to mention the entire situation of him _saving_ her_._ They _must_ have figured it out by now, and it was probably stressing them all. Whatever Rude had wanted to talk to Reno about that morning was bad enough that he'd _texted _him, leaving her completely out of the loop. She wasn't much for gambling, but she felt it was a safe bet that both their conversation and Reno and Tseng being gone had everything to do with how they would approach Rufus without being killed. A huge part of her wished they hadn't left her in the dark, but if there was one thing she'd learned over the years, it was to trust her partners.

"We're landing." Rude's deep voice made her jump slightly, and she gripped the railing of the atrium window.  
>"Wonderful."<br>"Ready?"

Elena raised an eyebrow. It was the first hint of 'caring' that Rude had shown all day, which only made the knot in her stomach worse.

"I suppose. Maybe it'll be a quick death, right?"

He didn't smile, but that didn't surprise her. The noise of the engines reached a deafening peak atop ShinRa Tower, signaling their time to exit. Silently the petite woman followed her bald counterpart off the ship and down to the roof elevators. As the doors slid shut behind them it blocked off most of the airship noise, leaving plenty of room for the yelling below to reach them.

(Is that...Rufus?)

She'd never heard him so enraged. But who could he possibly be yelling _at? _There hadn't been another airship to the village before she left, and there was no way Tseng and Reno had made it back to the Tower before them in a car. She couldn't think of anyone else he would be so angry with...

They exited the elevators and started down the short, open hallway leading into the President's office. As they came closer, Elena could barely hear the soft, calm replies of Tseng to ShinRa's outbursts.

"Yes sir, I understand."  
>"Are you sure, Tseng? Because I'm having trouble believing you really <em>do<em>!" The blonde man paced before him. "The actions of your team cost this company something _very_ important to me."  
>"It won't happen again."<p>

Elena and Rude's entrance drew Rufus's attention away from the eldest Turk momentarily, and he was quick to hone his icy gaze on the woman who was exchanging a quick look with one very silent, somewhat paler-than-usual Reno.

"You." His voice dropped, and Elena came to attention instantly. "Shouldn't you be dead?"

She knew that change of voice. The dark, ravenous tone that was far more intense than screaming.

"...Yes sir." She replied, unable to think of a clever answer.  
>"And yet here you are." He looked to Reno. "Thanks to <em>you<em>."

Reno only stared at him. There was no point in playing this losing game with Rufus.

"A life for a life then, is it?" The President reached to his side, brushing the handle of his shotgun.

Before he could pull it, however, Tseng drew his own handgun and shot Reno twice in the chest.

Elena's eyes went wide, and her entire body numbed as she watched the redhead crumple to the floor in front of her like a burning piece of paper. She lunged forward, screaming- completely unaware of Rude as he rushed her from behind and snatched her slight frame from the ground. Weakly she tried to fight back, but he was faster and focused; quickly finding the point on the side of her neck to hold just long enough to knock her out, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

~~~~~~~~~~  
><strong>AN: Thanks for reading. Please review! :) -Ari**


	9. Chapter 9: Out of Time

**(A/N: I have NO idea why the site decided to post this chapter in all italics. Hopefully I fixed it! Enjoy! :D)**

**Chapter Nine: Out of Time**

_"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon,_  
><em>After all I knew it had to be something to do with you.<em>  
><em>I really don't mind what happens now and then,<em>  
><em>As long as you'll be my friend at the end.<em>

_And if I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_  
><em>If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?<em>  
><em>I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might-<em>  
><em>Kryptonite..."<em>

_-Kryptonite  
>~3 Doors Down<br>_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's going to bleed to death."  
>"I'm aware- help me."<br>"Hold pressure here, let me see-."

A loud sizzle, and what smelled like burning flesh...

"He's waking up."  
>"Good, keep him still."<p>

Another sizzle. Reno's turquoise eyes snapped open.

"Sonofa_bitch_!"

On one side of him, Reeve pulled a fire materia away from his chest and sat back while on the other Tseng shoved harder on his bullet wounds to push him down.

"Stop moving." He instructed calmly. "We're cauterizing your wound."  
>"Two times?" Reno sputtered. "You shot me <em>two times<em>?!"  
>"It needed to be convincing."<p>

Reeve snorted. "To _whom_?"

"He's fine. Aren't you, Reno?  
>"I need a goddamn drink."<br>"See? Already over it."

Reeve rolled his eyes, pushing himself up from the floor to sit on the leather seat behind him. It was then that Reno realized they were in the back of a moving car, and they were driving fast.

"Where are we going?" He grumbled, sitting up as Tseng released his shoulder to check the bleeding.

"To phase two." He seemed satisfied with the wound, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the excess blood off his hands.

"'Phase two'?"

"You _can't_ have forgotten already." Reeve muttered, shooting a look to Tseng. "Perhaps if he hadn't lost so much _blood_-."

"We didn't discuss it in detail before because we weren't certain we would even make it to this point. As far as Rufus knows right now, you're on your way to be dumped off a bridge-."  
>"Nice."<br>"-but what he's going to find out is; on the way to there, you pulled through your wounds, begged forgiveness, and for redemption. I- knowing the value of your strength and skill to this team- offered a trade: Elena's life for yours."

At the mention of her name, his sole purpose for 'fake dying' came rushing back. He looked at Tseng through narrowed eyes.

"Is she safe?"  
>The shift in tone surprised the older man, but he didn't flinch. "Of course. Rude took her home."<br>"Rufus will have her killed."  
>"An order he's already given to the Turks."<br>Reno grit his teeth. "The bastard... I swear I'll-."

"-No," Reeve interrupted him, "you won't. I hate to tell you this, Reno, but you blew your chance for that level of 'world peace' in Kalm. Now your only option is to take the offer- Elena's life in exchange for your freedom and continued employment as a Turk."

"'Freedom'," he spat. "While working for Rufus? That's rich. And why the hell would I want to do that?"

"To keep her alive." Tseng looked at him. "By accepting this kill-order, you give Elena just enough of a window for Reeve to extract her and take her to safety."

That shut him up. Mulling it over, he looked between them.

"What then? She can't come back once she leaves."  
>"She won't have to." Reeve explained. "She'll be working for me. I'll provide her with protection and whatever else she needs."<p>

Silence enveloped the car as Tseng moved to the seat beside Reeve, leaving Reno to sit in the floor in front of them. He stared at the pair contemplatively for a while, knowing he didn't have long to make an impossible choice- impossible in that there was no choice about it. On one hand, he would rather die than ever work for Rufus ShinRa again, while on the other...his life would be over if anything happened to Elena.

...It was at that moment Reno realized he actually cared for someone more than he valued his own life.

Pausing to glance at the floor he shook his head slightly, then looked back up to the men in front of him, nodding. Tseng nodded back, pulling the car phone from the wall and dialing.

"Yes, this is Tseng. There's been a change to the President's most recent order for the Turks." Holding the phone out to Reno, he hit 'speaker.'

Reno stared at him for a moment, then cleared his throat.

"This is Reno of the Turks, and I accept the kill order posted for former-Turk Elena."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

Elena sat in the floor of her walk-in closet- eyes bloodshot, knees drawn to her chest, clutching a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand while pressing the back of the other vacantly against the side of her face. Tears matted strands of dirty, messy hair to her cheeks, only adding to the portrait of despair that was her reality.

There was no way to know how long she'd been out. All she knew was when they'd reached ShinRa tower, the sun had been up; when she woke up after Rude knocked her out she was in her apartment and it was dark. She never bothered turning on the lights- her head was pounding, and it wasn't like she didn't know where anything was. After spending what felt like hours lying in the floor, she'd collected herself just long enough to raid the liquor cabinet before retreating to the most secluded place she could think of- her closet.

She wanted to disappear. The pantsuits and dresses that hung down around her did little to help, but what she lacked in invisibility the booze made up for in complete somberness. It only took a few minutes for the liquor to kick in and although she knew her conscious body was busy mourning the man who'd just died, the vodka wrapped her in a blanket of numbness that allowed her to do it all silently and without shaking.

In the distance she heard the soft beep of a PHS. She glanced up at the slatted folding door that closed her off from the rest of the room; Rude was still in her apartment.

(Probably going to kill me soon,) she thought bitterly. (So much for trusting your partners.)

Sighing, she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her free hand then checked her gun holster. Empty, of course. Not that it mattered. Hand-to-hand was her primary weapon, but against Rude? She would have to care a lot more about her life to save it from him.

His deep voice rumbled from the kitchen, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. The sound of his PHS closing echoed off the walls, then his footsteps moved further away until finally, the front door opened and closed. He was gone.

(Doubt it.) She took another swig from the glass bottle before setting it aside and standing. Leaning heavily on the door frame, several minutes of slow, steady breathing went by as Elena unsuccessfully tried to compose herself.

(It doesn't matter anyway.) She shook her head. ('The end' is the end. Who cares how I face it?)

Despite her thoughts, the blonde straightened up and brushed her hair back into a haphazard ponytail. Her tie and jacket were gone- something she was sure she had Rude to thank for- but her tucked-in button-up and heels were still intact. Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves. Maybe she didn't care whether or not she died tonight, but if that bald asshole thought she was going down without a fight he had another thing coming.

If she'd been anywhere near her right mind, she would have felt the change in atmosphere when the sound of footsteps picked up again, this time coming toward her room. She would have noticed how much lighter the person moved, but labored to breathe at the same time. She might have smelled the faint scent of stale blood and the fresh one of burnt flesh. But she didn't notice any of it. She didn't care.

So it was much to her surprise when, in her moment of 'last stand' glory, she shoved open the closet door and came charging out only to have her attack deflected by the man she was waiting to follow into death.

Reno, despite being wounded and weak, dodged her swing, grabbed her by the wrist with one hand and pulled her in by the waist. The two spun out of control, stumbling across the carpeted floor until they connected with the wall. Reno landed first, breath escaping in a grunt as he braced himself against the pain that shot through his damaged shoulder. Elena collapsed against him, the side of her face falling softly onto his chest. It took a moment for her to register what was going on, and Reno had no trouble willing himself to wait.

She leaned away from him; he released her wrists and she pushed herself back off his shoulders. He winced under her touch and she moved the hand that pressed on his wound, carefully sliding it under his shirt and peeling back the layers to look at the charred flesh. Her eyes seemed to glass over as she stared at it, reliving the attack in the Tower.

He reached up to take her by the shoulders. "Elena-."  
>"You died." She cut him off sharply, dark eyes suddenly fixed on him and full of anger. "I watched you...Tseng shot you- twice. I saw you fall-."<br>"It was staged."  
>"But Rude-."<br>"He was in on it too- Elena," he gripped her gently. "You have to believe me. We staged everything. I'm here. This is real."

She paused, absorbing the new information, before switching to 'suppressed panic' mode.

"We have to leave," she started, turning out of his grasp and rushing to her closet. Pulling a duffel bag from one of the shelves, she dropped it to the floor and began dumping clothes into it. "Now. Rufus will send someone to kill us both the minute he finds out you're alive-."  
>"Elena."<br>"-I'm sure there's already an order on _my_ head, but I've got places we can go and hide out for _months_-."  
>"Elena."<br>"Maybe the old cabin out in Icicle Village is still standing-."  
>"<em>Elena.<em>"  
>She stopped her rambling to look at him. "What?"<p>

He hesitated, not certain where to start. "There's already an order out on you, OK? Tseng picked it up from Rufus and I...I took it from him."  
>She went rigid. "...You picked it up?"<br>"Yeah." He ran a hand across his neck, knowing how bad it sounded. "On the ride over. Look, Elena-."  
>"Are you here to kill me?"<p>

It wasn't what she said so much as the doubt in her voice when she said it that hurt him. The nervousness he felt disappeared- all he wanted was for her to know things were going to be alright.

"N-no," he stammered, shaking his head. "Gods no, Elena. I would never-."  
>"Then why would you accept something like that?"<br>"I _had_ to, Laney-."  
>"What do you mean 'had to'?" She was angry now, dropping the few shirts she held in her hand to the floor and turning to face him. "Rufus thought you were <em>dead<em>, you didn't 'have' to do anything-!"  
>"<em>He would hunt you!<em>"

They both slipped into uncomfortable silence for a moment, and he slumped his shoulders wearily. Why were they yelling so much? This wasn't supposed to be how things ended. It was already bad enough that he was losing her, he didn't want their last moments together to be nothing but anger.

He started again, voice softer. "I took the order...to give Reeve time to come in and get you before Rufus finds out I'm alive and willing to take you out myself to win back his favor." He rolled his eyes. "It sounds like bullshit, I know. But the trade is the only way I can keep him from chasing you. Once you escape, we'll just make it look like you offed yourself, and he'll stop looking for you because I'll be under his command again. He'll have lost nothing and have no reason to investigate your death."

She blinked. "...Why would you do that?"  
>He sighed. "I know it's hard to understand-."<br>"No," she shook her head. "I get it. It's just- Reno, what you're signing up for- going _back_ to him...you won't be able to leave. Ever. He'll kill you before he ever lets you go again, don't you know that?"  
>"Yes."<br>"Then...why?"

He could only look at her. Of course she knew why, they both did. But he also knew that telling her would only make leaving that much harder. Instead, he looked down.

"Reeve is gonna take good care of you, OK?"  
>"No," her voice wavered. "Reno, please, don't..."<p>

She fell apart, and it was all he could do to rush to her as she crumbled. Catching her, he settled them both on the floor of her closet, holding her as she sobbed and whispered 'no' pitifully into his arms.

"It's gonna be alright, 'Laney. I swear. I'll come back for you, you hear me?"

It was one of many promises he made to her. One of many, all of them empty. Reno had no way of knowing whether or not he'd be able to visit her when Reeve took her away to Kalm- hell, he wasn't entirely sure he'd ever even see her again. All that was certain was after she left he would wait for Tseng, trash the place, then return to Rufus and try to explain himself. Even then, there was no guarantee the President wouldn't kill him anyway, but if it ensured Elena's safety, he could care less about his own.

Elena had just begun to collect herself when the sound of the front door shutting echoed through the apartment. At first, Reno assumed it was Reeve, until the heavy thud of plush footsteps thumped toward them. It was Cait Sith.

"I had a feeling you'd still be here." He grumbled upon seeing the red-head. Then, to Elena. "Are ya ready to go, lass?"

She sniffled, quickly drying up her waterworks as she stood and collected her bag from the floor.  
>"There's a car waitin' a few blocks over- we haven't much time." The hint was heavy to make their 'good-bye's' quick, but he never moved. Not that it mattered; before Reno had even stood up all the way Elena started walking to the door.<p>

"No need for anything drawn out." She murmured, disappearing from the room. "See you around."

The front door slammed shut, and Reno balked, wide-eyed. Cait Sith eyeballed him, witty remark ready on his tiny tongue, but his higher sense of sympathy kicked in when he saw the man's face drop in disappointment. Going against his goofy nature, the robot mimicked clearing his throat.

"You know. Most of the time when someone acts like that, it means they'll really miss you."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Reeve downloaded a program on woman's emotions in ya this time, did he?" Looking around, he quickly rediscovered the forgotten bottle of vodka in the floor and scooped it up, taking a drink from it and pushing past the puppet.

Cait Sith snorted. "No, but I still know more about 'em than _you_, pig."

He followed him into the kitchen, where the Turk had stopped to rest against the marble counter-top of the island. Feeling that foreign sense of sympathy creep up again, the cat started to say something else in an attempt to comfort the drunk, but was interrupted when the front door flew open.

Reno stood upright to face the intruder, and was tackled by Elena. The short woman grabbed his shirt-collar and pulled him down fiercely, pressing her lips to his. He kissed her back after moment, running his hands up her back to hold her face.

She broke away before he could bring her closer, staring up at him and biting her lip.

"You know- why you're doing this... I feel the same way, too."

There was nothing else to say. This time when she left, Reno was positive it was for good. Cait Sith, no longer feeling obligated to lift anyone's spirits, snorted as he followed her out into the hallway.

"Fuckin'..._bleedin' hearts_, I tell ya."

He shut the door behind them, leaving Reno to slump onto the chair next to the island.

An hour passed before Tseng arrived. The vodka was long gone by then, but much to Reno's delight, his superior had been sure to bring a flask. The older man unscrewed the top and took a seat next to him, sliding it across the counter as he did so. A short period of silent drinking went by before Reno spoke.

"I'm never gonna see her again, am I?"  
>Tseng hummed. "I wouldn't say 'never.' Assuming Rufus doesn't kill you on sight once we return, you might only have to wait a few months before it's considered 'safe' to go to Kalm."<br>"What about Reeve? What's he gonna do once she gets there?"  
>"I wouldn't know. He tends to keep me in the dark when it comes to matters like this. The less informed I am, the better."<br>"Huh."

They continued on drinking. After another quiet spell, Reno let out a disgusted breath.

"_Dammit_. Why did it have to turn out like this?"  
>Tseng smiled slightly. "More often than not, a life with normal, 'human' relationships elude people like us, Reno. Turks were never meant to fall in love."<br>He cut his eyes to him. "What would _you_ know about it?"  
>"More than I should," he chuckled, taking the flask and standing as he finished it off. "Less than I wanted."<p>

Tucking the steel container away, he walked back to Elena's bedroom.

"Come on now. We have a suicide to stage."  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

**Author's Note: Well, folks, it's done! Sorry it took so long to finish. I was kind of busy having a kid. :D Please review- and stay tuned for the next chapter of 'The Fire'! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**  
><strong>~Ari<strong>

**P.S. I know the ending doesn't give a lot of closure. It isn't supposed to, since Reno and Elena's story ties into "The Fire." Just letting you know!**


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